Authorities said agents investigating a scheme to provide documents for illegal immigrant workers had tracked down several of the identity theft victims.

A federal grand jury in Tyler handed up the indictments on April 1, but they remained sealed until the raids, which began before dawn.

The sweeps stemmed from a larger investigation into identity theft and document fraud at Pilgrim's Pride, Myers said. That probe led to the arrests of two dozen people from the company's Mount Pleasant plant and nearby homes in December.

Forty-five people, all illegal immigrants, were arrested in Mount Pleasant on charges of false use of Social Security numbers, ICE said. More than 100 people were arrested on immigration violations in Chattanooga, Tenn., and they could face criminal charges related to identity theft, the agency said. Another 100 were arrested on immigration charges in Moorefield, W.Va.