After a shocking raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a South Omaha food plant Tuesday, city officials held a press conference today to share what they knew and clarify the role of local law enforcement.
Prior to a discussion about the raid, newly sworn-in Mayor John Ewing began by encouraging those who would like to support those affected to: “(1) Check on neighbors and families, (2) Contact local organizations which provide aid to immigrant communities, and (3) If you choose to demonstrate, it is important to be peaceful and understand the city has requirements like permits for public demonstrations.”
Chief Todd Schmaderer then detailed the Omaha Police Department’s knowledge and involvement in the raid.
Schmaderer said OPD was made aware “on an extremely general basis” at the beginning of last week that ICE and Homeland Security may be coming to Omaha.
“We didn’t have any specifics. We didn’t really have anything to pass on,” he said.
But that Tuesday morning, June 10, Schmaderer said OPD was contacted by federal authorities to provide traffic control during the raid.
“We did provide traffic control just to ensure a safe environment. The Omaha Police Department did not have any role whatsoever in the detaining of anybody in the inception of this operation or anything of that nature. We were peripheral with traffic control only,” said Schmaderer.
Speaking with reporters, Schmaderer specified that ICE did not indicate where, when, or how the raids would occur. “Last I heard, over 70 were detained,” he said, adding that he had no information on where they were taken.
Once traffic control was no longer necessary, Schmaderer says officers shifted to monitoring protests and “ensure First Amendment rights” at two protests.
The first was located near the raid location—Glenn Valley Foods—at 32nd and “L” Street. According to OPD, at its peak, there were 400 participants in this protest. No arrests were made, and one protester reported an assault.
The second protest was at the intersection of 72nd and Dodge, which peaked with around 200 protesters. Schmaderer said there were no issues or violations at that protest, and very minimal police involvement.
Omaha Police will continue to monitor any impromptu protests, particularly this weekend in relation to the College World Series.
“The role of the police department will be to ensure a safe environment and enforce the laws,” Schmaderer said. “But our primary objective is to ensure First Amendment rights, plain and simple. So we do encourage protest demonstrations. We just ask that it be done peacefully.”
Roger Garcia, President of the Douglas County Board, emphasized the personal impact on the community.
“When we hear a story of one family member going away all of a sudden, that alone is very traumatizing to a community. Now we can envision approximately 80 family members in one day,” Garcia said. “We don’t know where they went, we don’t know where they’re going, and we don’t know what the future holds for them.”
Garcia leveled, saying he understands the removal of those “involved in high-level criminal activity…but the individuals caught up yesterday, at least from the personal stories that I am aware of, did not fit that profile.”
Further, Garcia said Tuesday’s raid impacted his family directly, revealing that his aunt-in-law was among those detained.
“She’s lived here for decades. She’s raised a family here. She’s contributed back to the Omaha community and economy. We can assure you she was not involved in any high level criminal activity,” Garcia said. “I’m just telling a very honest narrative of how this impacts our community.”
Omaha City Council President Danny Begley echoed many of Garcia’s sentiments.
“I have family and friends that are teachers in our local school systems, and we know the impacts of the families that are taking place here with the raids,” said Begley.
Ewing told reporters he did not have any information about forthcoming raids, but hopes Tuesday’s will be the last “because of the chaos it creates in the community.”
Schmaderer listed the federal agencies he knew shared involvement in the raid:
- U.S. Customs
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- Homeland Security
- The Department of Justice (and FBI)
- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- United States Marshal Service
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Nebraska State Patrol also took part, but Schmaderer said he wasn’t “100% sure” of the extent, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department assisted OPD with traffic.
Ewing reemphasized that he does not support the raids, but somberly said “I don’t have any influence on how this is done… I don’t know why Omaha was targeted.”
Schmaderer made clear that OPD will not be involved in verifying or checking the immigration status of community members.
“That is not our mission,” he said. “Our mission is public safety. Our mission is police community relations. Our mission is that for this reason: I need victims to come forward. They will not come forward if they’re fearful of Omaha Police Department being immigration officers. I need witnesses to come forward. I don’t want an underlying bed of crimes that are occurring that we’re not aware of and that victim can’t get any help because of immigration status,”
“That is a continuation of a practice and policy under the previous mayor,” Ewing followed. “I supported that during the campaign, and I support that now. That will always be our stance for this community as long as I’m Mayor of Omaha.”
Ewing urged Congress to develop a comprehensive immigration policy “that actually works.”
“We don’t have a comprehensive or even understandable approach to immigration… I would want them to come up with a plan that they’ve been talking about for decades, and do something that helps hardworking people in these communities be able to have an opportunity to become citizens of this country because they are contributing to our cities,” said Ewing. “That’s not soft on crime or anything. It’s humanitarian. These are people. These are not statistics.”
In a brief statement, marking a stark contrast, Governor Jim Pillen said “I support the work of our federal partners to ensure that the law is followed and I remain supportive of President Trump’s efforts to secure the border.”
In reaction, Ewing said he hadn’t seen Pillen’s statement, but “I will always try to work with the Governor and other leaders in this community… But we are going to look at what we believe is best for the people of Omaha.”
Omaha’s Director of the Human Rights and Relations Department, Cailin Dejillas, shared numerous resources for affected community members:
- The Mexican Consulate of Omaha — emergency 402-312-5006 | general 402-595-1841
- The Guatemala Consulate of Omaha — emergency 531-999-0083 | general 531-910-0236
- The El Salvador Consulate of Omaha — 402-502-1030
- The Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement — 402-884-0876
- Heartland Workers Center — 402-933-6095