Bystanders jump in front of ICE vehicles with arrested migrants inside after raid on meat packing plant
Horrified locals threw themselves in front of Immigration and Customs Enforcement vans which had been loaded with dozens of illegal migrants picked up in a raid on a meat packing plant.
ICE agents stormed Glenn Valley Foods processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday and arrested up to 80 illegal immigrants working under fake IDs.
Shocking footage emerged on Tuesday of the moment three bystanders who had gathered outside the manufacturing plant blocked the path of a tinted black van.
Even as the agent behind the wheel of the car began driving toward them, the trio refused to move out of the way, clutching their phones to their chests as they filmed the moment the van ploughed them down.
As horrified bystanders shouted a nd pleaded, the trio jumped onto the bonnet of the van, which abruptly came to a halt, tossing them off the hood.
'You f***ing ran me over,' one of the men said to the agent as he stepped out of the car, in the video captured by Flatwater Free Press.
Moments later, the agent jumped behind the wheel again and sped off at speed, with at least one woman still stuck on the front of the car.
'You're not taking those people,' a bystander shouted as an agent approached the woman who moments earlier was on the car.
'Don't touch me, don't touch me,' she repeatedly said.
Others used rocks and sticks in an effort to break the back window of the car and free the people who were detained inside the car.
One ICE officer approached a boy who was trying to break into the car and roughly shoved him to the ground, telling him to 'get back.'
When the boy got to his feet again, he spat on the agent.
It's understood at least three 15-passenger vans were loaded with illegal migrants, while others were escorted onto a bus with boarded up windows.
The cars were joined by a law enforcement escort as they left the plant.
Gary Rohwer, owner and CEO of Glenn Valley Foods, told local media outlet WOWT that federal agents told him 97 employees were using false IDs.
He said his company had used e-Verify during the hiring process and that he was unaware that any of his staff were working in the United States illegally.
'They're good, hardworking, honest,' he said. 'They're part of our family.'
Rohwer said he was not aware of the raid beforehand and that ICE agents began screening his staff.
'They had a list of 97 employees that they screened. If they're okay then they'll be coming back to work. If they're not okay, they won't be back.'
According to witnesses, staff were being separated into two groups within the plant - those who could verify their legal working status and those who couldn't.
Relatives of workers reportedly rushed to the scene, some trying to bring documentation for their loved ones.
ICE spokesperson Tanya Roman confirmed that agents 'executed a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods, today, based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States.'
She said despite reporting otherwise, the Glenn Valley Foods raid was the only operation in the Omaha region to take place on Tuesday.
Mayor John Ewing Jr., who only officially took office on Monday, said he and his team were 'trying to get to the bottom of what happened today.
'We know that actions like these affect families. My administration is working with community groups to understand the scale of need,' the mayor said.
'We do not want people to be so afraid they stop reporting crimes. Our Omaha Police Department will respond to 911 calls and not ask about legal status.'
Ewing reiterated that Ohama police officers 'do not and will not seek individuals to check their legal status.'
Several small protests sprung up around Omaha in the wake of the raids on Tuesday, following a similar pattern to the timeline of demonstrations in Los Angeles.
Protesters gathered to condemn raids across Downtown LA on Friday, but community anger spiraled throughout the weekend and led to violent riots.
President Trump sent in about 700 Marines and a total of 4,100 National Guard troops to regain control of the crisis, sparking fury from state Democrats and community leaders.
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