ICE Took Half Their Work Force. What Do They Do Now?(nytimes.com)
nytimes.com
ICE Took Half Their Work Force. What Do They Do Now?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/us/ice-glenn-valley-foods.html
35 comments
The real question: why are we ok with the free movement of capital, but insist on restrictions for the movement of labor?
There are societal components to such unrestricted labor movement, like displaced local workers, lack of housing, strain on public resources etc.
Capital movement is restricted - especially internationally.
Capital doesn’t bring along the culture of where it comes from or become part of the polity. Capital doesn’t need to be educated or housed and isn’t eligible for welfare benefits.
That's begging the question. We are not OK with either.
Not just illegally, but apparently evading federal employment verification systems by using stolen identities!
Obviously the employer didn't knowingly hire illegal immigrants since the employees were verified through the US government's E-Verify system.
> Obviously the employer didn't knowingly hire illegal immigrants
Is that obvious? Is it?
Is that obvious? Is it?
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For more than a decade, Glenn Valley [reported] new sales records
for one of the fastest-growing meatpacking companies in the Midwest.
But, in a matter of weeks, production had plummeted by almost 70 percent.
Most of the work force was gone. Half of the maintenance crew was
in the process of being deported, the director of human resources had
stopped coming to work, and more than 50 employees were being held at
a detention facility in rural Nebraska.
The human traffickers are those who use foreigners as cheaper labor. Not figuratively, but literally. These companies deserve just as much sympathy as the plantation owners of the past, or the farmers using orphans for serfs in the recent past.
> The human traffickers are those who use foreigners as cheaper labor. Not figuratively, but literally.
The challenge is that non-consensual seizing, harboring, transfer and receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, and then intentionally exporting them to locations that pointlessly increase the harm being done - this is objectively worse than what you describe.
However we don't have a term that properly reflects the horror of US Gov's trafficking. Until then, we are using what we have.
The challenge is that non-consensual seizing, harboring, transfer and receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, and then intentionally exporting them to locations that pointlessly increase the harm being done - this is objectively worse than what you describe.
However we don't have a term that properly reflects the horror of US Gov's trafficking. Until then, we are using what we have.
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Yes it does. The point of immigration law is to limit the total number of foreign people coming into the country, to maintain it within the nation's capacity for americanizing immigrants and the economy's capacity to employ them. If you want to have immigration, it should be low enough so you're turning Indians or Guatemalans into Americans faster than they're turning America into India or Guatemala.[1]
Ultimately, the fairest thing to do is to actually enforce the immigration laws by targeting companies that hire illegal-alien labor. That will reduce the incentive of people to immigrate illegally, and reduce the need for future deportations.
[1] https://www.sup.org/books/economics-and-finance/culture-tran... ("In The Culture Transplant, Garett Jones documents the cultural foundations of cross-country income differences, showing that immigrants import cultural attitudes from their homelands—toward saving, toward trust, and toward the role of government—that persist for decades, and likely for centuries, in their new national homes. Full assimilation in a generation or two, Jones reports, is a myth.").
Ultimately, the fairest thing to do is to actually enforce the immigration laws by targeting companies that hire illegal-alien labor. That will reduce the incentive of people to immigrate illegally, and reduce the need for future deportations.
[1] https://www.sup.org/books/economics-and-finance/culture-tran... ("In The Culture Transplant, Garett Jones documents the cultural foundations of cross-country income differences, showing that immigrants import cultural attitudes from their homelands—toward saving, toward trust, and toward the role of government—that persist for decades, and likely for centuries, in their new national homes. Full assimilation in a generation or two, Jones reports, is a myth.").
> Yes it does. [paragraphs of stuff that don't reflect a need to raid factories in order to seize legal workers]
No. It does not. Raiding factories of legal workers does not improve my life.
Creating a state of persistent fear for legal residents - this also does not improve my life. It does however degrade the lives of legal residents and citizens I know and care about.
No. It does not. Raiding factories of legal workers does not improve my life.
Creating a state of persistent fear for legal residents - this also does not improve my life. It does however degrade the lives of legal residents and citizens I know and care about.
> Raiding factories of legal workers does not improve my life.
They're illegal workers who broke the law not only by immigrating illegally, but by using stolen identification to get past the federal employment verification system:
"In his experience, E-Verify was good at checking numbers, not people. The government maintained that Glenn Valley employees had been using IDs that were stolen. One number belonged to a nursing student in Missouri, who lost her student loans as a result of the identity theft. Another came from a disabled man in Texas, who could no longer get his medications."
And if the article is correct in suggesting that illegal workers are getting past the eVerify system, that suggests that identity theft and identity fraud is a much bigger part of the issue than anyone realized previously.
They're illegal workers who broke the law not only by immigrating illegally, but by using stolen identification to get past the federal employment verification system:
"In his experience, E-Verify was good at checking numbers, not people. The government maintained that Glenn Valley employees had been using IDs that were stolen. One number belonged to a nursing student in Missouri, who lost her student loans as a result of the identity theft. Another came from a disabled man in Texas, who could no longer get his medications."
And if the article is correct in suggesting that illegal workers are getting past the eVerify system, that suggests that identity theft and identity fraud is a much bigger part of the issue than anyone realized previously.
> They're illegal workers who broke the law not only by immigrating illegally
This being a misdemeanor, on par with speeding—something I’m sure none of us have ever done today.
This being a misdemeanor, on par with speeding—something I’m sure none of us have ever done today.
Illegal entry, by itself, is not even a misdemeanor. But illegal aliens typically break numerous other laws to obtain employment and evade detection: https://cis.org/Report/Myth-Otherwise-LawAbiding-Illegal-Ali....
E.g. using false identification to evade eVerify probably can be charged as a felony under 18 USC 1028 or 18 USC 1001. I’d you work with a smuggler or cartel to gain entry, you can be charged with felonies under conspiracy laws. And nobody complies with 8 USC 1302, which requires aliens to register. That’s punishable by up to six months in prison. Ordinary speeding can’t carry jail time at least here in Maryland.
E.g. using false identification to evade eVerify probably can be charged as a felony under 18 USC 1028 or 18 USC 1001. I’d you work with a smuggler or cartel to gain entry, you can be charged with felonies under conspiracy laws. And nobody complies with 8 USC 1302, which requires aliens to register. That’s punishable by up to six months in prison. Ordinary speeding can’t carry jail time at least here in Maryland.
> They're illegal workers who broke the law not only by immigrating illegally, but by using stolen identification to get past the federal employment verification system.
So, some boundaries here to establish perspective. Since the mandate of seizing and exporting 3000 people/day, we've had a series of disingenuous and patently false statements from the relevant USG agencies. Further, the acts committed in this pursuit have exhibited extreme bad will by this administration and commonly disregard constitutional boundaries.
If this isn't a baseline you accept as factual and useful to the discussion, there's little point in continuing beyond this point. If you do not see these violations as harmful to the integrity to rule of law and to the trustworthiness of US Gov's authority, there is little point in continuing this conversation. If you feel current US Gov justifications are trustworthy by default, we are likely at an irreconcilable point.
That said, we know US Gov's verification system validated these workers. US Gov justifies seizing these workers based on fraudulent identities - after saying they are valid. The trustworthiness of the latter claim isn't well established given the agencies' recent history.
Given it's most recently earned reputation, it is especially likely that the claims of false identity are at least partially false and probably trend higher. If you do not see this as a reasonable supposition, I believe we are done here.
So, some boundaries here to establish perspective. Since the mandate of seizing and exporting 3000 people/day, we've had a series of disingenuous and patently false statements from the relevant USG agencies. Further, the acts committed in this pursuit have exhibited extreme bad will by this administration and commonly disregard constitutional boundaries.
If this isn't a baseline you accept as factual and useful to the discussion, there's little point in continuing beyond this point. If you do not see these violations as harmful to the integrity to rule of law and to the trustworthiness of US Gov's authority, there is little point in continuing this conversation. If you feel current US Gov justifications are trustworthy by default, we are likely at an irreconcilable point.
That said, we know US Gov's verification system validated these workers. US Gov justifies seizing these workers based on fraudulent identities - after saying they are valid. The trustworthiness of the latter claim isn't well established given the agencies' recent history.
Given it's most recently earned reputation, it is especially likely that the claims of false identity are at least partially false and probably trend higher. If you do not see this as a reasonable supposition, I believe we are done here.
I grew up in the Midwest and moved to the west coast for college, my opinions on all the things you listed differ wildly from a lot of my family. Is that good or bad? Are they more or less American than I am? What even would it mean to “fully assimilate”, why is that a goal?
Your point brings up two issues: (1) does American culture exist? and (2) does that culture matter substantively? The answer to both is "yes."
As to (1), people have varied attitudes in every society, but they cluster around distinctive averages. And the same set of basic attitudes can lead to different specific opinions depending on priorities. Conversely, people having different attitudes can converge on the same opinion for different reasons.
It's hard for Americans to understand just how "foreign" foreign people are. You don't get much insight by being a tourist, or interacting with assimilated foreign elites at arm's length in school or the workforce. As a counter-example to your's, my wife and I have almost the same opinions, but are culturally opposites. I'm quite obviously Bangladeshi while my wife is quite obviously a pre-Revolutionary War British American whose family settled Oregon during the wagon-trail era. We didn't even realize how different we were until we had kids and my parents moved nearby, and we had to navigate things like Desi face-saving culture versus Oregonian bluntness, or how our cultures have completely different norms for how kids relate to parents.
And I grew up in Virginia surrounded by Anglos. I didn't even have an Italian American friend until my 30s. You wouldn't even understand half the stuff my mom (who moved here from Bangladesh at 40) thinks. She's a Trump voter--one of the 50% of naturalized citizens who voted for him last year--who is currently mad at Trump over Palestine, and associates "LGBT" with "rednecks." That seems random, but it follows straightforwardly from her culture. (I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader to decode it.)
As to (2), these differences matter. Garret Jones's book, linked above, gets into this, addressing cultural differences in things like savings rate and how it affects the economy. As with any social issue, it's hard to prove definitively. But folks like Lee Kuan Yew believed that culture played a huge role in national social and economic development.
To give a concrete example, my dad wanted my brother to go back to school to get his MBA, even though he was on track to become managing director at a bulge bracket investment bank (and ultimately did so). Why? Desi culture has an extreme focus on education and credentials compared to American culture. That's good at the individual level--in that it allows desis to rise to the top in a credential-oriented society. But that attitude also disincentivizes risk-taking and encourages excessive deference to people because of the degrees they have rather than their proven track record. So it would be bad of Silicon Valley became less American and more south asian in that regard. And the fact that you do see south asian entrepreneurs nonetheless is a good example of how assimilation into american culture is a good thing.
I will also point out that, assuming you're a left-leaning American, the importation of foreign attitudes also is a reason for changes in the right wing of the country's politics. Maybe you didn't like Anglo Republicans like Romney or McConnell, but you probably like even less the kinds of folks who can win a majority in a post-Anglo America. The kind of strong-men right wingers who can win elections in Latin America are the same kind of people who can win elections in an increasingly Latinized U.S.
As to (1), people have varied attitudes in every society, but they cluster around distinctive averages. And the same set of basic attitudes can lead to different specific opinions depending on priorities. Conversely, people having different attitudes can converge on the same opinion for different reasons.
It's hard for Americans to understand just how "foreign" foreign people are. You don't get much insight by being a tourist, or interacting with assimilated foreign elites at arm's length in school or the workforce. As a counter-example to your's, my wife and I have almost the same opinions, but are culturally opposites. I'm quite obviously Bangladeshi while my wife is quite obviously a pre-Revolutionary War British American whose family settled Oregon during the wagon-trail era. We didn't even realize how different we were until we had kids and my parents moved nearby, and we had to navigate things like Desi face-saving culture versus Oregonian bluntness, or how our cultures have completely different norms for how kids relate to parents.
And I grew up in Virginia surrounded by Anglos. I didn't even have an Italian American friend until my 30s. You wouldn't even understand half the stuff my mom (who moved here from Bangladesh at 40) thinks. She's a Trump voter--one of the 50% of naturalized citizens who voted for him last year--who is currently mad at Trump over Palestine, and associates "LGBT" with "rednecks." That seems random, but it follows straightforwardly from her culture. (I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader to decode it.)
As to (2), these differences matter. Garret Jones's book, linked above, gets into this, addressing cultural differences in things like savings rate and how it affects the economy. As with any social issue, it's hard to prove definitively. But folks like Lee Kuan Yew believed that culture played a huge role in national social and economic development.
To give a concrete example, my dad wanted my brother to go back to school to get his MBA, even though he was on track to become managing director at a bulge bracket investment bank (and ultimately did so). Why? Desi culture has an extreme focus on education and credentials compared to American culture. That's good at the individual level--in that it allows desis to rise to the top in a credential-oriented society. But that attitude also disincentivizes risk-taking and encourages excessive deference to people because of the degrees they have rather than their proven track record. So it would be bad of Silicon Valley became less American and more south asian in that regard. And the fact that you do see south asian entrepreneurs nonetheless is a good example of how assimilation into american culture is a good thing.
I will also point out that, assuming you're a left-leaning American, the importation of foreign attitudes also is a reason for changes in the right wing of the country's politics. Maybe you didn't like Anglo Republicans like Romney or McConnell, but you probably like even less the kinds of folks who can win a majority in a post-Anglo America. The kind of strong-men right wingers who can win elections in Latin America are the same kind of people who can win elections in an increasingly Latinized U.S.
Hire legal American workers at a prevailing wage?
If you read the article, you'll see they verified all employees through the US government's E-Verify system as recommended and paid $20/hr.
> Hire legal American workers at a prevailing wage?
This company hired legal workers and they were trafficked away.
If these are the wrong legal workers, who are the correct legal workers? Who are the ones that should to not be seized and trafficked?
This company hired legal workers and they were trafficked away.
If these are the wrong legal workers, who are the correct legal workers? Who are the ones that should to not be seized and trafficked?
If you read the article it is pretty clear that they hired a lot of people who lied about their identities and were not in fact legal workers.
> If you read the article it is pretty clear that they hired a lot of people who lied about their identities and were not in fact legal workers.
I read the article. What is clear is different. It is that US Gov validated each and every one of these workers. ICE's false identity claim (multiplied by 107 workers) were made within a PR statement, likely made in response to demands about this mass seizure. Those claims do not jibe with US Gov's own stronger validation claims. Given ICE's recent trend toward making disingenuous and evidentially false statements in it's reactive PR, I am not inclined to trust it without clear evidence from sources of strong integrity.
I read the article. What is clear is different. It is that US Gov validated each and every one of these workers. ICE's false identity claim (multiplied by 107 workers) were made within a PR statement, likely made in response to demands about this mass seizure. Those claims do not jibe with US Gov's own stronger validation claims. Given ICE's recent trend toward making disingenuous and evidentially false statements in it's reactive PR, I am not inclined to trust it without clear evidence from sources of strong integrity.
American citizens
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e-verify is such a scam
Either you’re opposed to them being in the country illegally, or you should be concerned that they are being denied access to basic services due to their status.
The status quo is untenable.