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OMAHA, Neb. (NewsNation) — Omaha’s newly-inaugurated Democratic politician says helium “doesn’t know” wherefore the metropolis was targeted by national migration officials which resulted successful the arrests of much than 100 people.
Mayor John Ewing Jr., who was sworn into bureau connected Monday, said his squad are inactive moving to get much details connected the presumption of those arrested successful Nebraska’s largest workplace operation nether President Donald Trump.
Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer told reporters Wednesday that his section did not assistance national agents successful the raid. He said Omaha Police officers seen astatine the tract of the raid were determination to supply postulation control.
He expressed interest that undocumented residents would not study transgression if they’re acrophobic that section constabulary are acting arsenic migration enforcement.
“We weren’t portion of the aiding relation of this. As acold arsenic readying of the raid, arsenic acold arsenic cognition of the operation, thing of that quality … the Omaha Police Department did not person a relation successful that,” said Schmaderer. “I tin guarantee the nationalist that the Omaha Police Department volition not beryllium progressive successful checking migration presumption successful our community. I request (crime) victims to travel forward. They volition not travel guardant if they’re fearful of the Omaha Police Department being migration officers.”
Ewing called connected Congress to make a “comprehensive migration policy.”
“Right now, what is happening crossed the state is simply a batch of fearfulness is being created,” helium said. “We don't person an understandable attack to immigration, particularly erstwhile it comes to our Latino members of this country.”
Out of the 107 radical who were targeted successful the raid, 70 were detained aft ICE determined their status.
The raid happened astir 9 a.m. astatine Glenn Valley Foods successful southbound Omaha, an country wherever astir a 4th of residents were foreign-born according to the 2020 census.
A tiny radical of radical came retired to protestation the raid, and immoderate of them adjacent jumped connected the beforehand bumper of a conveyance to effort to halt officers successful 1 determination portion others threw rocks astatine officials’ vehicles arsenic a achromatic autobus carrying workers pulled distant from a plant.
Many workers attempted to debar apprehension by hiding successful gathering rafters and walk-in freezers with subzero temperatures, prompting EMTs to respond and cheque individuals for wellness and information concerns, according to national agents connected scene.
The cognition comes amid nationwide protests implicit migration enforcement, peculiarly successful Los Angeles, wherever akin workplace raids past week triggered demonstrations that prompted Trump to deploy National Guard troops.
Glenn Valley Foods proprietor Gary Rohwer said helium utilized the national E-Verify strategy to cheque workers’ eligibility but was deceived by employees utilizing stolen identities of U.S. citizens, which allowed them to walk inheritance checks.
The cognition is portion of the Trump administration’s renewed absorption connected workplace enforcement arsenic portion of broader migration crackdowns. Such operations person go flashpoints for protests, with critics arguing they abstracted families and harm communities portion supporters accidental they’re indispensable to enforce migration instrumentality and support American workers.
NewsNation's Ali Bradley contributed to this report.
