Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched enforcement actions in Omaha on Tuesday, although details were scarce.
Nebraska Public Media was able to confirm that agents were at Glenn Valley Foods, 6824 J St.
Outside the Glenn Valley plant, masked ICE officers drove unmarked cars while escorting a giant white bus with covered windows out of the parking lot at about 1 p.m. Protesters screamed profanities at agents and threw water bottles at the cars. Many of the officers took videos of the cars at they drive through with lights blaring.
There were reports of actions at three other locations, but those were not confirmed.
One of those locations was the JBS Beef Plant at 3435 Edward Babe Gomez Ave. However, a JBS spokesperson said that she had no knowledge of an immigration raid at the plant.
Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia said in a Facebook post that ICE also was at LALA Branding Products at 7122 J St.
Omaha law enforcement officials confirmed that they had been asked by ICE to provide traffic control for the enforcement actions but did not have any other details.
“The Department of Homeland Security recently notified OPD of the operations and OPD officers responded to the areas for traffic control,” the Omaha Police Department said in a statement. “Federal authorities are responsible for immigration enforcement. OPD’s role is only assisting with traffic control and public safety in the areas near the operations.”
State Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha said he was working to assess the size of the raids and putting together resources and information for affected family members.
He said Douglas County does not have a contract with ICE to use its correctional facility, so it’s unclear where any detained people were being taken.
Guereca said news of the raids was sowing fear and confusion in the south Omaha district he represents, where there is a significant Latino population.
“You walk down top 24th Street right now, and it’s basically empty, right? People are scared, and rightfully so,” Guereca said. “You know, and it’s affecting business. Small-business owners, right? Can’t, can’t do business if people aren’t coming, if people are too afraid to leave their own homes.”
He also said he had heard that a couple of large employers with significant Latino workforces had shut down and let workers go home for the day, “just out of abundance of caution.”
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