Dozens of criminal illegal aliens were arrested on June 10 at an Omaha, Nebraska, food plant. All were using the stolen identities of Americans to lend legitimacy to their employment standing.
The Department of Homeland Security put the number of those arrested at "approximately 70." All were detained during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a Green Valley Foods plant. ICE agents, carrying warrants, entered the facility to begin making arrests following a months-long investigative effort.
Mark Zito leads the regional Homeland Security Investigations office involved in the case.
He said some people in the area have offered misguided interpretations of the arrests.
"There have been individuals who have gone on the record recently referring to the identity thieves we arrested last week as 'good, hardworking, and honest,' " he said. "These so-called honest workers have caused an immeasurable amount of financial and emotional hardship for innocent Americans. If pretending to be someone you aren't in order to steal their lives isn't blatant, criminal dishonesty, I don't know what is."
Protests and rioting against ICE enforcement raids that began June 7 in California and lasted a week ended with an estimated $20 million in damages. President Donald Trump federalized National Guard troops to assist local police to keep the peace in a move that drew complaints from the mayor of Los Angeles and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Local KETV in Omaha reported that a special agent involved in the case said enforcement officers knew who they were looking for.
"This was a targeted criminal investigation looking to find the people that were stealing identities." The agent was asked by a KETV reporter about the best recommendation for people in the U.S. illegally. The agent replied, "Self-deport."
A release from ICE described one of the stolen identity victims as "working for nearly 15 years to regain their identity and fix the financial damage done by an illegal alien who was working at Glenn Valley Foods."
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.