Outraged at the sudden acceleration of immigration raids around meatpacking plants in southwestern Kansas, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest in Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend and Liberal demanding an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s weeklong operations.
Some 200 people gathered at Wright Park in Dodge City Sept. 25 calling for a halt to the detention and deportation of local workers. “I didn’t realize there was that much support for immigrants, but there is,” Noe Garcia, a worker at the Cargill plant there told 12News.
Ana Ortiz told KCTV that she’d been unable to contact her mother who works at National Beef since federal agents stopped the vehicle she was traveling in. “We have a voice call with her saying, ‘They’re shoving me, they’re hurting me.’ Then they took her phone away.” ICE agents, who claim they only target “the worst of the worst” convicted criminals, lay in wait to roust workers near the meatpacking plants.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2 represents 2,500 workers at National Beef in Dodge City. “No one should have to live in fear of going to work, sending their kids to school, or shopping at the grocery store,” Martin Rosas, the local’s president, told the press.
“We stand arm in arm with all UFCW members in Dodge City and Liberal and condemn ICE’s presence,” UFCW International President Milton Jones said in a statement released Sept. 24.
Frank Duran, a worker at Cargill’s Dodge City plant, and his daughter, Guadalupe Navarrete, who works at National Beef in Liberal, told the press that they were stopped on their way home from work by federal agents. Navarrete showed the agents her identification, but when she asked why they’d been pulled over, the officer refused to answer. “They profiled us,” Duran said.
With many workers staying home, bosses at some plants cut back schedules, while several restaurants had to close. “Fear is spreading,” said the owners of the Cabana Mexican Grill in Garden City, announcing its shutdown. “We refuse to pressure employees into risking separation from their families just so we can sell another plate of food.”
Kansas ranks second nationwide in cattle processing, behind Nebraska. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the estimated number of cattle killed in the days during and after the raids had dropped, prompting complaints about ICE from packinghouse bosses.
Municipal officials in Dodge City and Garden City announced Sept. 25 that ICE agents had concluded their operations in the area just hours after the Dodge City protest. Over 100 workers were detained.