On June 10, 2025, one of Nebraska’s largest meatpacking facilities, Glenn Valley Foods, became the center of a storm as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents launched a surprise raid during a morning staff meeting.
According to CBS News correspondent Ian Lee, federal agents swarmed the plant in Omaha around 9:30 a.m., catching workers completely off guard. Within minutes, employees were rounded up, questioned, and separated into groups – U.S. citizens, legal residents, and undocumented workers. Those without papers were handcuffed, loaded onto buses, and taken away. Many families still don’t know where their loved ones were taken.
Chilling Videos Released
The raid was part of the Trump administration’s increased focus on deportation and worksite enforcement. Although the administration publicly promised more “humane” immigration policies, this operation looked anything but. Videos released by ICE showed workers being pulled out of freezers and coaxed from storage rooms by armed officers in tactical gear. The Des Moines Register captured videos of protesters confronting officers and attempting to block vehicles from leaving the scene.
A City Brought to a Halt
South Omaha, a city built on the backbone of immigrant labor, felt the shockwave almost immediately. According to CNN reporters Ashley Killough, Ed Lavandera, and Jeremy Harlan, several businesses, including libraries and a local community college, closed their doors due to safety concerns. Workers across the construction, agriculture, and food processing industries simply didn’t show up the next day. City officials called it “chaos.” The mayor said it plainly: the fear spread faster than facts.
Heartland Workers Center director Lina Traslaviña Stover said it felt like a “shockwave,” warning that long-term psychological and economic effects were already setting in. When entire families suddenly disappear, so does trust in public institutions. Residents began hiding in their homes, fearful of grocery trips turning into deportation arrests.
The Faces Behind the Fear
Rina Salado, a 25-year-old who had just been promoted at her job, received the life-altering news that her mother had been detained in the Glenn Valley Foods raid. As she told CNN, she had just run outside to share her good news with family when she saw a flood of missed calls. Her mother, Rina Ramirez – a hardworking employee of 13 years – was inside the plant when armed agents stormed in. Ramirez was able to make one phone call before being taken away.
“She told me to take care of my sister,” Salado recalled, sobbing. That would be their last conversation before her mother was transported nearly 300 miles away to North Platte, Nebraska. Her crime? Being undocumented after living in the U.S. for 25 years and never even receiving a speeding ticket. Her attorney confirmed to CNN that Ramirez faces only a civil immigration charge.
Families Torn Apart
One of the most heartbreaking accounts came from Olga Lorenzo Palma, whose husband and brother were both detained during the same raid. Her husband, after two years of working at Glenn Valley Foods, was deported almost immediately. Palma said he signed papers under pressure, fearing charges of identity theft. He told her on the phone that fighting it would just waste money – he’d still be deported.
Palma told CNN her 6-year-old daughter keeps asking when dad is coming home. “I tell her he went to work someplace else and he’ll be back soon,” she said, holding back tears. The story is far from rare. Many workers reportedly signed paperwork without fully understanding the consequences, with no access to legal counsel in the crucial early hours of detention.
The Employer’s Shock
Glenn Valley Foods’ president, Chad Hartmann, told CNN the company had no idea this was coming. He claimed the company used E-Verify, a DHS system meant to screen employees for work eligibility, and had been following every law. According to a statement from U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, whose district includes Omaha, Hartmann’s company wasn’t being charged with any crime and was described as “a victim in this as well.”
Hartmann said he watched as federal agents served a search warrant and methodically moved through the plant. By the next morning, only 30% of the workforce had returned. The facility could only operate at 20% capacity, causing immediate supply chain concerns. “These are wonderful people,” Hartmann said. “Now they’re just gone. It’s like losing family.”
Protests Erupt in Solidarity
Following the raid, videos from the Des Moines Register showed protesters confronting ICE vehicles and rallying in the streets of Omaha and nearby cities. Demonstrators held signs like “We Are Friends of the Immigrants” and “Families Belong Together.” Protesters also tried to pass legal paperwork to detained workers through ICE barricades. The effort was emotional, urgent, and, in many cases, futile.
Organizers from Omaha Rapid Response, a coalition of over a dozen immigrant advocacy groups, jumped into action immediately. According to CNN, they coordinated legal support, emergency housing, and funds for food and childcare. But they also issued a grim warning: more raids are likely. “We have to be tactical,” said Juan Carlos Garcia from the Missionary Society of St. Columban.
Children Left Wondering
Beyond the legal chaos and economic losses, the emotional damage is immense. Ally, a 21-year-old Omaha resident, told CNN that eight of her relatives were detained. She’s now doing grocery runs for her remaining family members, who are afraid to leave home. “Even going to the store feels like a risk,” she said.
What’s worse, children are now waking up without parents. Olga Palma’s 6-year-old still waits for her dad to walk through the door. Salado said she can’t enjoy everyday things anymore, knowing her mother might be sleeping on a concrete floor in a detention center. “I feel guilty even sleeping on a bed,” she said. “I just worry about her.”
A Violent History Repeats
This isn’t the first time Nebraska has seen large-scale raids. CNN pointed to 2018’s ICE sweep of multiple state farms under the first Trump administration, and Operation Wagon Train in 2006, where over 250 workers were detained at a Grand Island plant. But this latest event feels different, locals say. Maybe because it came without warning, maybe because the faces were so familiar. Even local Commissioner Roger Garcia’s family wasn’t spared – his wife’s aunt was among those detained.
“She’s someone who raised her family here and worked every day,” Garcia said. “This wasn’t a drug bust. This was a woman going to work on Tuesday morning.”
A Viral Symbol of Absence
After the raid, a photograph went viral online: a lunch table filled with pink bags, thermoses, and homemade meals left behind in a hurry. Among them was Rina Ramirez’s lunch. Her daughter, Rina Salado, went to the plant to retrieve it. The sight of it broke her. Her mom, a woman who made fresh tortillas every night after work, now detained with no known release date.
“She can’t come here, and I can’t go there,” Salado told CNN. “I don’t know what’s next.”
Federal Silence, Local Panic
One of the most alarming aspects of the entire operation was the lack of transparency. As CBS News reported, legal firms helping the detained workers didn’t even know where they were being held. Without legal representation, experts say deportation is almost a certainty. And with many detainees moved hundreds of miles away, family members and lawyers remain in the dark.
The operation involved over a dozen state and federal agencies, and according to CBS, was tightly coordinated. But to residents of Omaha, it felt like a sneak attack. It wasn’t just an immigration raid – it was a community collapse, an act that left jobs unfilled, businesses shuttered, and children without parents.
What Are We Doing Here?
Let’s take a step back. This raid didn’t uncover a human trafficking ring. It didn’t stop a cartel. It pulled over 70 peaceful workers, most of them long-time residents with no criminal history, from their jobs, their families, and their communities. One woman was cooking dinner for her family just two nights before she vanished. Another man worked two years at the plant and was told he had no chance of staying, no matter what lawyer he hired.
We keep hearing “No one is above the law,” but what about laws that tear families apart while rewarding employers with a slap on the wrist? If Glenn Valley Foods did everything “by the book,” yet its workforce was still mostly undocumented, then maybe the book is broken.
A Country Built by Labor, Erased by Policy
There’s something haunting about a lunchbox sitting on a table with no owner. It’s more than a missed meal – it’s a symbol of a broken system that sees labor as disposable. No workers means no meat. No families means no communities. Yet here we are, repeating the same cycle every few years: raid, detain, deport, repeat.
If immigration enforcement continues to target workplaces like this, we need to ask who’s really benefiting – and who’s really being punished. Because so far, it looks like everyone loses.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.