Meat Packaging Giant Closes Facility Amid Growing ICE Raid Fears

[UpInArms]

Glenn Valley Foods abruptly switched off the lights at its Omaha, Nebraska, beef plant this week—an operation many supermarkets rely on for their steak and burger supply.

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Well before ICE vehicles rolled up in Omaha, staffing was the sector’s open wound. The industry never regained the 15 percent of workers lost during the pandemic; Tyson Foods alone has closed six plants since 2023.

Immigrants, documented or not, still fill roughly a third of all meat‑packing roles. After the raid, Glenn Valley’s 140‑person payroll could field only 30 percent of the staff needed to keep lines moving—proof that America’s $1.1 trillion food chain grinds to a halt without these workers.

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When 20 percent of plants report chronic understaffing, hygiene protocols slip. The 2024 Boar’s Head listeria outbreak that killed 10 people was traced back to a short‑handed Virginia line.

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The Great Depression’s farm raids drove produce prices up 40 percent; history is repeating itself. Advocates point to the mid‑century Bracero visa program as proof that orderly, legal labor channels can stabilize supply. Without modern equivalents, the cycle of crackdowns, shortages, and inflation is set to recur.

More at:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/meat-packaging-giant-closes-facility-amid-growing-ice-raid-fears/ss-AA1GWI24#image=1

(Difficult website … have to scroll pages to read the full story)