Immigration authorities conducted a high-profile workplace raid in Omaha, Nebraska, resulting in the arrest of approximately 70 individuals suspected of unauthorized employment. The operation, reported by AP and multiple news outlets, was part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the use of unauthorized workers in the meatpacking industry. Protesters gathered outside the plant, escalating tensions by throwing rocks and jumping on moving law enforcement vehicles as the raid unfolded.
The incident occurred amid ongoing nationwide protests against ICE operations, with recent violence in Los Angeles prompting a federal response involving National Guard and Marine deployments. Protests over the raids in Los Angeles devolved into violence over the weekend as rioters targeted federal law enforcement officials by throwing rocks, and videos showed people looting stores, setting cars on fire and taking over a freeway. Trump announced Saturday he was deploying 2,000 National Guard members to help quell the violence, bypassing the governor, who typically activates the National Guard. The move prompted Newsom to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over efforts to allegedly “federalize the California National Guard,” while Democrats across the nation have attempted to pin blame for the violence on Trump’s activation of the National Guard while characterizing the anti-ICE riots as “peaceful” demonstrations.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump said Americans can expect additional immigration raids across the country similar to those in California, warning that any potential riots that break out in response to the raids will be met with “equal or greater force” compared to the government’s handling of recent Los Angeles violence. The Flatwater Free Press reported that the situation grew tense after protesters began gathering as a caravan of federal vehicles was leaving the plant. The outlet reported that several protesters jumped on moving law enforcement vehicles and “threw rocks and debris at the cars, shattering one window.” Video posted by the outlet shows what appears to be a line of federal vehicles surrounded by protesters on either side throwing objects, kicking the cars and yelling profanity and slogans like “f— you, pig.”
At one point during the video, a window can be heard smashing. In another video posted by the outlet, two protesters jumped on the hood of a vehicle as it attempts to travel off. The AP reported that federal immigration authorities made the arrests at Glenn Valley Foods Tuesday morning. ICE officials told the AP the raid was “based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States” and that it was likely the largest “worksite enforcement operation” in Nebraska since President Donald Trump took office. Fox News Digital reached out to ICE to confirm the raid but did not immediately hear back.
The incident highlights the broader national tensions around immigration enforcement and the political divide over the issue. While the Trump administration has framed the raids as necessary to combat illegal immigration and protect American workers, critics argue that the approach has led to increased unrest and a deepening of societal divisions. Protests over the raids in Los Angeles devolved into violence over the weekend as rioters targeted federal law enforcement officials by throwing rocks, and videos showed people looting stores, setting cars on fire and taking over a freeway. Trump announced Saturday he was deploying 2,000 National Guard members to help quell the violence, bypassing the governor, who typically activates the National Guard. The move prompted Newsom to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over efforts to allegedly “federalize the California National Guard,” while Democrats across the nation have attempted to pin blame for the violence on Trump’s activation of the National Guard while characterizing the anti-ICE riots as “peaceful” demonstrations.