ICE Raid at Meat Production Plant Baffles Company

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided Glenn Valley Foods, a meat production plant in South Omaha, detaining approximately 70 workers. The raid came as President Donald Trump intensified immigration crackdown efforts across the country, sparking protests. Knewz.com has learned that the raid, which occurred around 9 a.m., took both company officials and community members by surprise.

No Warning Whatsoever

Speaking to the local station WOWT, Gary Rohwer, CEO of Glenn Valley Foods and the maker of Gary’s QuickSteak products, said that he had received no advance notice of the operation. “Of course not. It’s a raid,” he said, explaining that federal agents arrived with no warning and began screening workers immediately. Glenn Valley Foods President Chad Hartmann expressed shock at the nature of the operation. “My biggest issue is: Why us?” Hartmann said. “We do everything by the book.” The company utilizes E-Verify, the federal database designed to confirm employee work authorization, and had believed it was in full legal compliance. However, when Hartmann brought this up with ICE agents during the raid, he was told that the E-Verify system “is broken.” Said Hartmann, “I mean, what am I supposed to do with that? This is your system, run by the government. And you’re raiding me because your system is broken?”

Chaos Unfolded

Estefania Favila, a supervisor at the meat production plant, described the chaos as Homeland Security officials banged on doors and shouted orders. “They just came in and said that it was a raid and we had to get everybody out of production,” she said. Workers were separated into groups based on citizenship and documentation status. Rohwer, the CEO, said that federal agents had entered the plant with a list of 97 people they wanted to screen. According to reports, ICE officials loaded about 70 detainees into buses with blacked-out windows and transported them to an undisclosed location for further processing. Among those detained were Favila’s two cousins, both immigrants from Honduras. ICE confirmed the raid, saying it was “based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States.” They said it was likely the largest ”worksite enforcement operation” in Nebraska since the start of Trump’s second term.

ICE Focuses on a New Industry

Meatpacking facilities depend largely on immigrant labor due to the physically strenuous nature of the work. While this sector had not previously been a central target of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement, recent weeks have seen a noticeable ramp-up in federal crackdowns. Company President Hartmann said that he was stunned by the aggressive nature of the federal officials’ raid. He further said that he intended to contact Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who represents the district, and other Nebraska leaders to try to get answers. By that afternoon, Rep. Bacon released a statement that said, “ICE verified that Glen Valley Foods complied with E-Verify 100% and is a victim in this as well.”

Community Reaction to the ICE Raid

The raid drew a response from the surrounding community, as a small group of protestors gathered outside the facility. Some attempted to physically block ICE vehicles by climbing on them. Others threw rocks as the detainee buses pulled away. South Omaha, where the plant is located, has long been a hub for the meatpacking industry and is home to a large immigrant population. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, nearly one-quarter of residents are foreign-born. Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia, who represents the area, rushed out of a public meeting upon hearing of the raid. “It clearly instills a lot of fear,” Garcia said. “People are asking me if this is going to continue for multiple days here in Omaha. People are asking me if this is going to spread to other cities,” he added.

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