Federal immigration agents gained media attention after carrying out what officials described as the largest worksite enforcement operation in years. The operation focused on meatpacking plants in the Midwest, but the owner claims he used a federal system to verify workers’ status.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched the raids in Omaha, Nebraska, as part of a broader effort to locate and detain immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally and working in various industries nationwide.
What happened during the raid?
On Tuesday, June 10, reports revealed that ICE agents took more than 100 immigrants illegally in the country into custody at Glenn Valley Foods during a surprise enforcement action that stunned the company’s owner.
According to Reuters, company President Chad Hartmann said Glenn Valley Foods relied on E-Verify, a federal database used to confirm whether employees are authorized to work in the United States. E-Verify uses millions of documents from the Department of Homeland Security to help individual employers through the verification process.
In 2023, the Center for Immigration Studies said the system received a near 100% accuracy rating for the program. Data from fiscal year 2021 showed that E-Verify processed 42.5 million cases, automatically confirming nearly 99% of employees either instantly or within 24 hours.
How many people did authorities arrest?
Witnesses and family members told local media that ICE agents arrived at the plant Tuesday morning and gained entry. The Department of Homeland Security reported on X that one individual threatened officers with a box cutter during the operation, though no agents sustained injuries.
“This was the largest worksite enforcement operation in Nebraska under the Trump Administration,” the post stated.
WOWT reported that CEO Gary Rohwer said immigration officials informed him that at least 97 employees allegedly used false identification to obtain employment. U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., later confirmed that authorities took 75 to 80 individuals into custody.
In a statement to KETV, an ICE spokesperson confirmed the operation and said agents executed a federal search warrant. According to ICE, it was “based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States.”
The Omaha Police Department emphasized officers did not participate in the operation, but provided traffic control and monitored protests in the area.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen addressed the enforcement operation in a statement.
“Under the Biden Administration, the country’s immigration policy absolutely failed the American people for four years,” he wrote. “We have to address the issue of illegal immigration, and I support the work of our federal partners to ensure that the law is followed and I remain supportive of President Trump’s efforts to secure the border.”
California enforcement sparks protests
Around the same time, a separate immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles helped trigger protests across the city after agents arrested several migrants outside Home Depot stores and other worksites. Day laborers, some of whom are undocumented, commonly gather in Home Depot parking lots to seek short-term work. The Wall Street Journal reports, ICE agents arrived without warning and detained individuals who were unable to provide legal documentation to remain in the U.S.
On Friday, June 6, federal investigators conducted enforcement activity in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Los Angeles near a Home Depot. According to The Wall Street Journal, that sweep, along with others in the region, helped trigger protests throughout the city.
LA mayor: Families, not criminals, targeted
In an interview with MSNBC, LA Mayor Karen Bass criticized the enforcement tactics, saying the Trump administration specifically targeted Home Depot locations, not violent criminals, as officials had claimed.
“I have a hard time imagining that’s who is in a Home Depot parking lot,” Bass said. “You know day laborers are people who work every single day. They will seek employment day after day. They are just trying to survive.”
ABC affiliate KABC in California reported that on Saturday, June 7, tensions flared in Paramount, California, after federal immigration agents appeared near a Home Depot on Alondra Boulevard. Protesters blocked streets with shopping carts and lit a bonfire, prompting Border Patrol agents in riot gear to deploy tear gas.
At least one person was injured, and several were arrested for allegedly assaulting federal officers. City officials, including Mayor Peggy Lemons, said there was no ICE raid — only a federal staging operation outside a Homeland Security office.
ICE descends on farm in California
Federal immigration agents detained several farmworkers during an early morning operation in Oxnard, California, on Tuesday. The FBI confirmed the action was part of a broader enforcement effort in Ventura County.
Video posted online shows ICE officers chasing workers through the fields. The United Farm Workers Foundation condemned the raid, stating that it targeted people who were simply trying to earn a living. Oxnard Mayor Luis McArthur also criticized the operation, calling it harmful to the local community.
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Author: Cole Lauterbach
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