Federal immigration raid at Omaha meat production plant sparks protests
Immigration authorities raided at least one Omaha meat production plant Tuesday morning, inspiring some small protests, but details about how many workers were affected weren’t immediately clear.Omaha police and the Douglas County sheriff said immigration officials had warned them about their plans, and their departments helped block off traffic around the neighborhood where many food production plants are located while U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers worked.Meatpacking plants rely heavily on immigrant workers who are willing to do the physically demanding work.
The industry has not yet been the focus of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, but the administration has been intensifying its efforts in recent weeks.Trump called out the National Guard this week to respond to ongoing protests in Los Angeles over his immigration policies.In Omaha, a small group of people came out to protest the raids, and some of them even jumped on the front bumper of a vehicle to try to stop officers in one location while others threw rocks at officials’ vehicles as a white bus carrying workers pulled away from a plant.Glenn Valley Foods officials didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press, but WOWT reported that CEO and owner Gary Rohwer said he wasn’t made aware of the operation ahead of time and that there was no warrant.“Of course not.
It’s a raid,” said Rohwer, whose company makes the Gary’s QuickSteak brand of ready-to-grill steak.Federal agents entered the plant around 9 a.m.Tuesday with a list of 97 people they wanted to screen, Rohwer said.
He said the company regularly checks the immigration status of employees with the federal E-Verify database.ICE officials didn’t immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press, but the agency confirmed the raid at Glenn Valley Foods to the Omaha World-Herald.“U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal law enforcement partners, execut...