The City of Omaha has become another hotspot for immigration enforcement.
The recent operation on a Glenn Valley Foods factory was the largest worksite enforcement action in Nebraska since the start of President Trump’s second term. With Trump in office, his administration has enacted new immigration policies at a rapid pace. These policies impacted many in the US, especially migrants, asylum seekers, small communities and families.
“I don’t know anybody that has had family been detained by the ICE operations or any of my family that has been detained,” junior Analia Silva said, “but I’m scared that they would be because I have Hispanic family members. And I do worry that they’re going to show up to their places of work and detain them.”
According to the Nebraska Examiner, a meat processing plant, Glenn Factory Foods, was operationed by ICE on June 10th with nearly one hundred workers detained and seventy four remaining in ICE the morning after. South Omaha’s predominantly Latino business district, known as a Hispanic and immigrant enclave, shut down immediately after the operation.
“South Omaha is going to be like a ghost town,” Edith Rodriquez, a para professional from Avery Elementary said. “You’re not going to have hard working immigrants working these factory jobs that help provide us meals.”
As stated by NBC News, about a third of the remaining staff at Glenn Valley Foods showed up to work with many others staying home traumatized or afraid. Samatha Santiago, who owns a business selling accessories said many of the detained people were her customers. Planned quineañeras and baptisms had to be cancelled due to the ICE operations.
“Friends that are undocumented, it [the ICE operations] has affected them economically because many of them missed work for many day,” Rodriquez said. “A lot left their jobs because of the fear of them being arrested by ICE.”
As the number of ICE operations continues to surge, with a 627% increase in monthly arrests, it soon begins to affect students’ lives. With schools, churches, and hospitals no longer being off limits for any ICE activity, student attendance records have begun to drop.
“At our school we have quite a number of kids that come from immigrant parents and a lot missed school several days because of the operations,” Rodriquez said. “Not only did it affect their attendance records but unfortunately some of my students’ parents got arrested by ICE so these kids were left with relatives wondering when they will see their parents again. Because of that a lot of them don’t attend school.”
With more immigration detention centers opening across the country, Nebraska Governor, Jim Pillen, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, announced on August 19 their plan for a detention center nicknamed “Cornhusker Clink.” The facility can accommodate 200 people with plans to expand to 300.
“I’m most concerned with… the use of military and police officers in a way that I think is unnecessary,” instructor Abigail Ceremuga said. “I think that we are not having due process for people in our country and I think that’s what makes me the most nervous. It is really important that we look at the bigger picture here and that we remember that these are people and they’re humans and they have rights and that we are treating them with dignity in ways that I don’t see in our current administration.”
Pillen added that he would order the Nebraska National Guard to provide administrative support to Nebraska based immigration agents. About twenty soldiers will be involved, and Nebraska State Patrol officers would allow six troopers to help federal immigration agents to arrest undocumented people. Silva says she wishes there was another way to handle immigration enforcement.
“There’s always another way, like I agree that there’s not an immigration issue because this country is built on immigrants,” Silva said. “It is built on the foundation of people coming to America and building on it. I don’t know what they could do instead but there’s always something better they can do.”
