Federal immigration agents stormed Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, Nebraska, detaining dozens of suspected illegal workers—sparking protests, political backlash, and serious questions about the reliability of the government’s own immigration verification system. The meatpacking plant’s executives claim they followed all federal rules, including using E-Verify, yet still found themselves at the center of a major enforcement operation under President Trump’s second-term crackdown on illegal labor.
ICE Raid Sparks Chaos in Omaha
In what ICE called a “criminal investigation into the employment of unauthorized aliens,” agents detained roughly 70 individuals after entering the Glenn Valley Foods plant with a list of 97 names. This marks the largest workplace immigration raid in Nebraska since Trump returned to the Oval Office.
The raid unfolded with military-style coordination, involving local law enforcement agencies for traffic control while ICE agents handled arrests and questioning. Reports say some community members threw rocks at buses carrying detained workers, and protests quickly erupted in South Omaha.
Gary Rohwer, owner and CEO of Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, Nebraska talked to reporters about the ICE operations happening inside his business.
Listen very carefully to what he says about the E-Verify system. He also said that many of his employees had FAKE ID. Which is also… pic.twitter.com/7KD5HKU0o6
— hernando arce (@hernandoarce) June 10, 2025
Company President Slams Broken System
Glenn Valley Foods President Chad Hartmann says his company was blindsided. The plant had been using the federal E-Verify system, designed to screen job applicants by confirming eligibility to work in the U.S. through Social Security and immigration databases.
“This is your system, run by the government. And you’re raiding me because your system is broken?” Hartmann asked angrily. Company attorney Gary Rohwer added, “Of course not. It’s a raid.”
E-Verify, while legally compliant, can be circumvented by using stolen identities, leading to false positives. That failure appears to be at the heart of ICE’s case, though the company insists it followed every law on the books.
Community Protest vs. National Security
South Omaha, a community with deep immigrant roots, reacted with anger and fear. City Councilmember Ron Hug and Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia slammed the raid as economically and socially devastating, with Garcia even walking out of a government meeting mid-session to respond.
Gary Rohwer, owner and CEO of Glenn Valley Foods, a processed beef and chicken packaging plant in Omaha, NE was caught cheating Americans by paying illegal aliens cheap wages to make himself filthy rich! Scumbag gets what he deserves and all these illegals had an opportunity to… pic.twitter.com/a12Q5VrgBL
— Beard Vet (@Beard_Vet) June 10, 2025
Meanwhile, Rep. Don Bacon defended the company’s E-Verify use and offered assistance to affected families, acknowledging the “long-overdue need to fix a broken immigration system.”
The ACLU of Nebraska and left-leaning advocacy groups are now demanding ICE halt future operations, calling the action “community terrorization” while insisting on immigration reform and legal protections for undocumented families already working in the U.S.