The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leaders are defending its raid on Glenn Valley Foods of Omaha that took ou halt of its workforce.
The owner said he used information provided by the government to ensure the workers were qualified for employment.
But ICE said there was a big a big identity theft scheme involved affecting nearly 70 undocumented immigrants who allegedly used stolen personal information to gain employment at the plant.
The multiagency investigation found that the workers used fraudulent Social Security numbers and identities to obtain jobs, wages and health benefits at the facility. Federal officials say more than 100 U.S. citizens were victimized, suffering financial, legal and emotional harm.
“These so-called honest workers have caused an immeasurable amount of financial and emotional hardship for innocent Americans,” said Mark Zito, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Kansas City.
“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,” he said.
The raid sparked widespread protests and President Donald Trump responded by saying ICE will stop targeting migrant field and meat-packing plant workers.
