The Gazette uses Instaread to provide audio versions of its articles. Some words might not be spoken correctly.
According to a union official, the employer of more than 200 workers at a meatpacking plant in Ottumwa informed them this month that their work visas had been revoked and that they now risk deportation.
According to Brian Ulin, secretary-treasurer of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1846, which represents JBS USA employees in Ottumwa, more than 200 workers at meatpacking plants were notified they could no longer work in the United States after a verification check by JBS, The Gazette said. The Brazilian enterprise is the biggest employer in Ottumwa and one of the biggest meatpackers in the country.
The Ottumwa Courier was the first to disclose that JBS employees were losing their visas.
About 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela had their temporary legal status revoked when the U.S. Supreme Court decided in favor of the Trump administration in May. After the Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that had halted the Trump administration’s policy change, these people who were given temporary protected status (TPS) under the Biden administration now risk deportation. Eligible citizens of specific nations experiencing armed conflict, natural catastrophes, or other exceptional circumstances are awarded temporary immigration status (TPS).
In a response to The Gazette, JBS stated that company is adhering to US government directives and that certain employees have been affected by the revocation of their prior legal status. Pork is the main product processed and distributed at the Ottumwa factory.
The company stated that, contrary to what some news stories have implied, it is not giving employees $1,000 each to aid in their attempts to self-deport and return to their home countries.
According to NPR, the Trump administration declared in May that it will provide a $1,000 incentive to migrants who “self-deport” by using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Home App, which was previously used to apply for asylum.
We are merely alerting them to the fact that their status has changed. In an email to The Gazette, a firm representative replied, “We are required to terminate those employees’ employment if they are unable to present evidence of ongoing/verified work authorization.”
According to the corporation, JBS has the best worker eligibility and compliance standards in the industry. We will continue to abide by the guidelines that the U.S. government has given us, and we are committed to hiring team members who are legally permitted to work in the United States. We will take appropriate action if that recommendation changes. Any affected employees are being informed that they are eligible for reinstatement and/or rehire if their status changes or if they have new evidence to provide. Our facilities are currently running smoothly, and our production levels have not changed.
According to Ulin, roughly 10% of the manufacturing staff at the Ottumwa factory are impacted by the work visa revocations. According to him, there are between 2,400 and 2,500 employees at the Ottumwa factory.
According to Ulin, the union is contacting members of Congress to request their intervention and is working to offer legal support to impacted employees.
The Trump administration’s measures, according to city and union officials, are destroying families, upsetting local economies, endangering food supply chains, making labor shortages worse, and possibly raising grocery store prices.
According to Ulin, Ottumwa’s economy will suffer as a result of the workers’ and their families’ departure. Although JBS has a varied workforce and can usually draw in new applicants, he added that replacing these personnel won’t happen right away and would put stress on the present team until the new hires are completely integrated and trained.
According to him, the workers had families and social ties and were more than just laborers. Beyond the immediate reduction in the meatpacking plant’s employment, their departure will have a significant negative impact on the local economy as a result of the abrupt loss of students, clients, and renters.
Ulin emphasized that these individuals are not criminals who thought they were operating lawfully and were attempting to improve their lives and that of their families.
“I simply believe it’s a regrettable circumstance, and I don’t think it’s fair,” he remarked. I think it’s terrible that these folks are directly impacted by something beyond their control through politics. Many of these individuals become friends. When they stay for a while, they integrate into the communities, and when they depart, it’s almost like losing a piece of your family.
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, was questioned by The Gazette on Tuesday regarding the work visa revocations and community members’ concerns. She stated: “I think we heard loud and clear in terms of immigration across the board that the State Department needs to do a thorough look at every workforce visa.”
“I’m working with the administration and (White House border czar) Tom Homan to deport dangerous illegals in our communities because we’re dealing with a lot of illegal immigration in this country right now,” Hinson stated. However, many of the temporary protected statuses for labor visas are intended to be temporary, so we must examine the home nations and any potential changes in conditions. And I am aware that the State Department and Secretary (of State) Marco Rubio are currently conducting a comprehensive investigation into that.
U.S. Representative Zach Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, represents the third congressional district of Iowa, which includes Ottumwa.
A message sent on Tuesday asking for comment for this piece was not immediately answered by Nunn’s office.
Mass deportations of farmworkers will have a detrimental effect on farms and agricultural enterprises in the United States by reducing their workforce, according to warnings from U.S. agriculture producers.
Trump stated that he was developing a program that would permit farmworkers without legal status to remain in the nation with assistance from their employers during a July event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
At the July 3 event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Trump announced that he and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem were working on legislation that would help affected farms and businesses by enabling employers to vouch for their undocumented workers to allow them to stay in the country.
“If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people in some way, Kristi, I think we’re going to have to just say that’s going to be good, right?” “We don’t want to do it where we take all of the workers off the farms,” Trump added.
However, Rollins withdrew Trump’s suggestion a few days later after facing backlash from the president’s most fervent fans, who have accused the administration of favoring farms.
Rollins told reporters during a press conference on July 8 that huge deportations of agricultural laborers will continue, but strategically, and that there would be no amnesty for them. Rollin told reporters that she believes automation might replace the migrant farmworkers who are in danger and that Medicaid work requirements, which are part of Trump’s agenda-setting tax and budget package, could replace them.
According to Rollins, the Trump administration is committed to safeguarding the American food supply in the near future and upholds its pledge to America to guarantee that all of its workers are Americans. However, we must exercise caution in carrying out the mass deportations to avoid jeopardizing our food supply.
Comments can be sent to [email protected] or (319) 398-8499.
