ICE Officers Assaulted in Nebraska Meat Plant Raid Detaining 70 Migrants

ICE Officers Assaulted During Nebraska Raid That Detained 70 Undocumented Immigrants

At least 70 undocumented immigrants were detained Wednesday after a large immigration enforcement operation was carried out at a meat processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The raid was carried out by a multi-agency task force under U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and erupted in violence when a man allegedly struck federal officers.

ICE officers encountered resistance during the operation, which involved an incident with a national of Honduras who reportedly brought a weapon and assaulted officers. "This wasn't simply someone 'out of status,'" ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said. "This was a dangerous criminal who assaulted law enforcement.

Many of those detained "had prior criminal histories" including DUIs, local arrest warrants and previous removal, according to ICE. Some could now be charged with additional federal crimes, including visa fraud, misuse of Social Security numbers, resisting arrest and illegal reentry, the United States attorney's office said.

Responses of Community and Plant
The raid occurred at Glenn Valley Foods, and company president Chad Hartmann voiced his frustration, saying the plant uses E-Verify for employees to verify their status. "Why us?" Hartmann said. "We cross all our t's and dot all our i's." ICE officials, he said, told him the federal E-Verify system is "broken."

Outside the plant, protesters clashed with federal agents, and some were said to have jumped onto government vehicles and thrown rocks. ICE didn't provide further details on the attacks but said some officers were the focus of the violence.

Roger Garcia, the Douglas County commissioner, said attempts are being made to coordinate legal aid and safe havens for families impacted by the raid. Several sites have been surveyed, with Glenn Valley and Lala Foods both tested positive, while JBS's participation was yet to be reviewed.

Federal Agencies Involved
The Taken of the operation which involved several federal and state agencies: ICE Homeland Security Investigations, DHS Inspector General's Office, DOJ, FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Nebraska State Patrol, USCIS, and the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Fraud Unit.

Mark Zito, the special agent in charge of ICE's Kansas City division, defended the agents' actions and blasted what he characterized as "reckless rhetoric" aimed at undermining law enforcement. "Our officers risk their lives daily at work, I think it's time people in this country defended our officers and took to our times."