GATLINBURG (AP) — The nation's top law enforcement officer says he isn't shedding tears over a raid at a Tennessee meat processing plant where 97 workers were arrested by immigration officials.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was speaking about employers, saying they shouldn't be able to gain advantage by hiring workers who are in the country illegally. The comments were made at a law enforcement training conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which is not far from the plant that was raided April 5.

Immigration activists immediately pounced on Sessions' comments, with one of them noting that the Southeastern Provision plant is still in operation and only the workers have paid the price.

A woman who answered the phone at Southeastern Provision said the company president was not commenting.