Immigration raid at Omaha meatpacking plant spurs protests, stokes fear in the city
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Immigration raid at Omaha meatpacking plant spurs protests, stokes fear in the city
An immigration raid at a meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska, spurred protests and stoked fear. Officials said it was the largest immigration enforcement action in Nebraska under this administration.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Department of Homeland Security says an immigration raid at a meatpacking plant in Omaha is its largest workplace enforcement action since President Trump's second inauguration. Here's Nebraska Public Media's Molly Ashford.
MOLLY ASHFORD, BYLINE: It was a tense scene yesterday outside of Glenn Valley Foods. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents loaded at least 75 people into a large white bus with boarded-up windows. They say the people were working at the meatpacking plant without authorization. The raid came as a surprise to community members like Diane Sutko. She and others learned about the raid and a later protest on Facebook.
DIANE SUTKO: We should have been expecting it, but still it was a shock.
ASHFORD: Rumors swirled online about additional raids at meatpacking plants and construction sites in Omaha, but Homeland Security says the raid at Glenn Valley was the only ICE operation in the city yesterday. Glenn Valley is one of the city's smaller meatpacking plants. The company did not return calls for comment. Still, even one raid put Omaha's immigrant population and their friends on edge.
SUTKO: I'm friends with three families from Venezuela, and they've done everything right. They've got work permits, and they've all got jobs, and they're all wonderful people. And I'm so fearful for them.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) No fear. No hate.
ASHFORD: Along a busy street in the city's meatpacking district, cars honked as hundreds gathered to show support for immigrants. Dayanara Lopez-Cruz described Omaha's Latino community as tight-knit, where everybody knows everybody. She said she showed up to protest because she saw what her parents sacrificed.
DAYANARA LOPEZ-CRUZ: My parents are from different countries. They fought for my life. My dad has had issues with ICE, and my mom has been fighting for residency ever since I can remember.
ASHFORD: Homeland Security said in a statement that the raid was the result of a criminal investigation into what they said was the large-scale employment of undocumented workers. It still isn't clear where the detainees were taken. Local advocates say they are working to provide legal aid to the people arrested and to provide support to their families.
For NPR News, I'm Molly Ashford in Omaha, Nebraska.
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