Latest news with #ChadHartmann
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Video shows huge raid by ICE agents in Omaha
Dozens of people working at a meat packaging facility in Nebraska were removed Tuesday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the factory. Workers at Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha were pulled off the floor as federal officials said they needed to screen 97 people. Ultimately, 70 were removed and taken into custody. The video above shows footage of the removals. 'Many of them scattered when officials arrive with a warrant—Some were in the rafters, one man was hiding in the wall and pulled a box cutter on an agent. He will be charged with assault on a federal officer,' NewsNation's Ali Bradley wrote in a Tuesday post on social platform X accompanied by the video. Company executives said they were stunned by the ICE raid, especially after vetting their candidates through the E-Verify system managed by the Department of Homeland Security. However, ICE officials later told the company owners the federally run E-Verify system was broken and that some people may have used false IDs to pass workforce screening requirements. '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?' Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods, told The Associated Press. Hartmann and Gary Rohwer, CEO and owner of the company, said officials didn't provide them with any notice before the raid. 'I was dumbfounded, these are good, good people, they really truly are, and they're part of our family,' Rohwer told NewsNation. He now remains worried about how he will quickly rehire a staff to suit the company demands. ICE officials have said they would help guide him on best hiring practices. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US immigration raid of Omaha meat plant cuts staff, fuels food production worries
CHICAGO, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. meat producer Glenn Valley Foods was operating an Omaha, Nebraska, facility with about 30% of its staff on Wednesday after federal agents detained workers in an immigration raid the previous day, slashing the output of products it sells to grocery stores and restaurants, the company's president said. In the wake of Tuesday's sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, livestock traders and market analysts expressed concerns that the potential deportation of undocumented workers from such raids could disrupt U.S. food production at a time when beef prices have soared and meat processors report a labor shortage. ICE agents detained about 74 to 76 workers out of roughly 140 at the Glenn Valley Foods plant, President Chad Hartmann said. Other workers did not show up on Wednesday because they felt afraid or traumatized, he said, adding that the facility's production dropped to about 20% of normal. Glenn Valley Foods sells steak, chicken and corned beef products to restaurants and grocery stores, according to its website. Retail beef prices have set records as the size of the U.S. cattle herd has declined to its lowest level in 70 years after a years-long drought raised feed costs. Consumer demand for steaks and hamburgers has stayed strong nevertheless. Glenn Valley Foods is trying to determine how long it will take to hire new employees, Hartmann said. "The hole that got punched into our business is staffing," he said. Livestock traders worried that immigration raids could slow meat companies' demand to buy cattle from farmers to process into beef, if the companies do not have enough workers. Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures came under pressure on Tuesday during the raid, after recently hitting records. "There's certainly going to be nervousness out there on where the labor situation goes, going forward," said Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker for risk management firm FuturesOne in Nebraska. Meatpackers still face an acute worker shortage, said Julie Anna Potts, president of the Meat Institute industry group. It worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when major companies such as Tyson Foods (TSN.N), opens new tab temporarily shut plants because of a lack of workers. Glenn Valley used E-Verify, a federal database used for checking employees' immigration status. Hartmann said Homeland Security told him on Wednesday that there was no better system. "We will have to continue to use it," he said. ICE said a criminal investigation was ongoing into what immigration officials called a large-scale employment of immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally. Footage, opens new tab of the Glenn Valley raid released by ICE showed agents searching the plant, restraining workers' hands and ankles, and taking them into custody. ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda of record-level deportations. Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles over the weekend when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse, according to rights advocates. On Tuesday night, demonstrators marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago. More than half of all meatpacking workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank. The Omaha World-Herald newspaper said on Tuesday that raids were also reported at local plants run by large meatpackers Tyson and JBS USA ( Tyson and JBS told Reuters their facilities were not raided.
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
US immigration raid of Omaha meat plant cuts staff, fuels food production worries
A man is detained during a raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Glenn Valley Foods meat production plant in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. June 10, 2025 in a still image from video. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS CHICAGO (Reuters) -U.S. meat producer Glenn Valley Foods was operating an Omaha, Nebraska, facility with about 30% of its staff on Wednesday after federal agents detained workers in an immigration raid the previous day, slashing the output of products it sells to grocery stores and restaurants, the company's president said. In the wake of Tuesday's sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, livestock traders and market analysts expressed concerns that the potential deportation of undocumented workers from such raids could disrupt U.S. food production at a time when beef prices have soared and meat processors report a labor shortage. ICE agents detained about 74 to 76 workers out of roughly 140 at the Glenn Valley Foods plant, President Chad Hartmann said. Other workers did not show up on Wednesday because they felt afraid or traumatized, he said, adding that the facility's production dropped to about 20% of normal. Glenn Valley Foods sells steak, chicken and corned beef products to restaurants and grocery stores, according to its website. Retail beef prices have set records as the size of the U.S. cattle herd has declined to its lowest level in 70 years after a years-long drought raised feed costs. Consumer demand for steaks and hamburgers has stayed strong nevertheless. Glenn Valley Foods is trying to determine how long it will take to hire new employees, Hartmann said. "The hole that got punched into our business is staffing," he said. Livestock traders worried that immigration raids could slow meat companies' demand to buy cattle from farmers to process into beef, if the companies do not have enough workers. Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures came under pressure on Tuesday during the raid, after recently hitting records. "There's certainly going to be nervousness out there on where the labor situation goes, going forward," said Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker for risk management firm FuturesOne in Nebraska. Meatpackers still face an acute worker shortage, said Julie Anna Potts, president of the Meat Institute industry group. It worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when major companies such as Tyson Foods temporarily shut plants because of a lack of workers. Glenn Valley used E-Verify, a federal database used for checking employees' immigration status. Hartmann said Homeland Security told him on Wednesday that there was no better system. "We will have to continue to use it," he said. ICE said a criminal investigation was ongoing into what immigration officials called a large-scale employment of immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally. Footage of the Glenn Valley raid released by ICE showed agents searching the plant, restraining workers' hands and ankles, and taking them into custody. ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda of record-level deportations. Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles over the weekend when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse, according to rights advocates. On Tuesday night, demonstrators marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago. More than half of all meatpacking workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank. The Omaha World-Herald newspaper said on Tuesday that raids were also reported at local plants run by large meatpackers Tyson and JBS USA. Tyson and JBS told Reuters their facilities were not raided. (Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Protests as ICE raid targets meat production plant
Immigration authorities raided a meat production plant in Omaha on Tuesday morning, detaining dozens of workers and leaving company officials perplexed. The raid occurred at approximately 9am at Glenn Valley Foods, located in a south Omaha region where nearly a quarter of residents are foreign-born, according to the 2020 census. A small group of protestors gathered at the scene, some attempting to obstruct officers by jumping on a vehicle's front bumper, while others threw rocks at officials' vehicles as a bus carrying workers departed from the plant. Chad Hartmann, president of the food packaging company, expressed his bewilderment at the raid's aggressive nature and the company's targeting. "My biggest issue is: why us?" Hartmann stated. "We do everything by the book." Hartmann added that the plant uses E-Verify, the federal database for checking employees ' immigration status. When he pointed this out to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, they reportedly told him that the E-Verify system "is broken." 'I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?' Hartmann said. 'This is your system, run by the government. And you're raiding me because your system is broken?' 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 ICE 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. CEO and owner Gary Rohwer told WOWT in Omaha he wasn't made aware of the operation ahead of time. He said federal agents entered the plant with a list of 97 people they wanted to screen. 'Of course not. It's a raid,' said Rohwer, whose company makes the Gary's QuickSteak brand of ready-to-grill steak. Estefania Favila, a supervisor at Glenn Valley Foods, said she was in a morning meeting when federal officials began banging on the plant's doors and yelling, 'Homeland Security!' 'They just came in and said that it was a raid and we had to get everybody out of production," Favila said. Employees were separated by those who had documents showing they were US citizens, those who had valid work documents and those who did not have documents, she said. About 70 people were taken away in buses with the windows blacked out, Favila said. Among them were two of her cousins who immigrated from Honduras, she said. ICE officials confirmed in an email the raid at Glenn Valley Foods, saying it was 'based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorisation 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. Hartmann, the company president, said he planned to contact Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who represents the district, and other Nebraska leaders to try to get answers. By Tuesday afternoon, Bacon had issued a statement saying the ICE raid sought to investigate stolen identities and that 'ICE verified that Glen Valley Foods complied with E-Verify 100% and is a victim in this as well.' Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia, who rushed out of a regular meeting Tuesday morning after he learned about the raid, said the community is shaken. 'It clearly instills a lot of fear,' said Garcia, who represents the area. '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.'
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Federal immigration raid at Omaha meat production plant sparks protests
Immigration Federal agenciesFacebookTweetLink Follow Immigration authorities raided an Omaha meat production plant Tuesday morning and took dozens of workers away in buses, leaving company officials bewildered because they said they had followed the law. The raid happened around 9 a.m. at Glenn Valley Foods in south Omaha, an area where nearly a quarter of residents were foreign born according to the 2020 census. A small group of people came out to protest the raid, 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. Chad Hartmann, president of the food packaging company, said the front office was stunned by the aggressive nature of federal officials' raid and confused by why the company was targeted. 'My biggest issue is: why us?' Hartmann said. 'We do everything by the book.' The plant uses E-Verify, the federal database used to check the immigration status of employees. When he said as much to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who carried out the raid, they told him the E-Verify system 'is broken.' 'I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?' Hartmann said. 'This is your system, run by the government. And you're raiding me because your system is broken?' 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 ICE 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. CEO and owner Gary Rohwer told WOWT in Omaha he wasn't made aware of the operation ahead of time. He said federal agents entered the plant with a list of 97 people they wanted to screen. 'Of course not. It's a raid,' said Rohwer, whose company makes the Gary's QuickSteak brand of ready-to-grill steak. Estefania Favila, a supervisor at Glenn Valley Foods, said she was in a morning meeting when federal officials began banging on the plant's doors and yelling, 'Homeland Security!' 'They just came in and said that it was a raid and we had to get everybody out of production,' Favila said. Employees were separated by those who had documents showing they were US citizens, those who had valid work documents and those who did not have documents, she said. About 70 people were taken away in buses with the windows blacked out, Favila said. Among them were two of her cousins who immigrated from Honduras, she said. Rep. Tony Gonzales joins The Lead ICE officials confirmed in an email the raid at Glenn Valley Foods, 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. Hartmann, the company president, said he planned to contact Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who represents the district, and other Nebraska leaders to try to get answers. By Tuesday afternoon, Bacon had issued a statement saying the ICE raid sought to investigate stolen identities and that 'ICE verified that Glen Valley Foods complied with E-Verify 100% and is a victim in this as well.' Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia, who rushed out of a regular meeting Tuesday morning after he learned about the raid, said the community is shaken. 'It clearly instills a lot of fear,' said Garcia, who represents the area. '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.'
