OPERATION VANGUARD INVESTIGATION OF NEBRASKA MEAT PACKING PLANTS UNCOVERS MANY ILLEGAL WORKERS
Operation Vanguard, a program begun under the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to ensure a legal workforce in the Nebraska meat processing industry, has stepped up its investigations. In April the INS announced that of the 66 facilities it investigated, 40 were employing undocumented workers.
The INS has conducted on site investigations at two facilities where more than 670 workers were suspected to be illegally employed. By the time the INS arrived, many of the suspected illegal workers had quit, and most of the workers were found to be legally employed. Only a few cases are still under investigation at these facilities, and only one person has as yet been arrested pending deportation.
The investigations have already had a dramatic impact on the industry, slowing production and decreasing prices. INS officials cite this as an example of the success of Operation Vanguard in discouraging undocumented workers from seeking jobs in the meat processing industry.
Sherry Edwards of the American Meat Institute looks warily at the INS crackdown. While the meat packing industry wants a legal workforce, they worry about the difficulty of attracting workers to what is a repetitive and often dangerous job. In Nebraska, the current unemployment rate is only 2.3 percent, well below the national average, making the prospect of replacing unauthorized workers appear quite difficult.
INS DEFENDS TREATMENT OF JAILED
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