U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and federal law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant and raided an Omaha, Neb., meat-processing plant the morning of June 10, according to numerous news reports.
Glenn Valley Foods, manufacturer of the Gary’s QuickSteak line of freezer-to-grill chopped meats, was the target of the raid — based on what was called an “ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States,” according to an ICE spokesperson cited by local news. The spokesperson said the investigation was ongoing and that more information would be released once available.
Glenn Valley Foods leadership told Politico that the company was “stunned by the aggressive nature” of the raid and confused because the processing plant uses E-Verify, a federal database that allows employers to check immigration status of workers. Chad Hartmann told Politico that he told the officers this, and they said E-Verify was broken.
About 70 to 80 workers were detained and transported off-site in buses with covered windows, the numbers varying between media reports.
Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, whose district includes the Glenn Valley plant, issued a statement saying ICE was investigating stolen identities, that Glenn Valley Foods had “complied with E-Verify 100% and is a victim in this as well.”
