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ICE Actions Disrupt Kansas Meatpacking Amid Tight Beef Supplies
Immigration officials have been making more arrests in Kansas communities near meatpacking plants.
Rancher groups say these actions are making it harder for workers and cattle companies to keep the beef supply moving.
A workers’ union said some employees at Cargill and National Beef were detained.
The union also said officials tried but could not enter plant parking lots because they did not have warrants.
Meatpacking plants are experiencing more employee absences.
Kansas is an important state for processing cattle.
The country already has fewer cattle than usual, which has pushed beef prices to record highs.
Companies and federal immigration agencies did not provide comments to the news report.
The Department of Homeland Security says ICE is arresting people sought for deportation as well as people suspected of lacking permission to be in the country.
Rancher groups say ICE activity has disrupted cattle shipments and multiple beef supply-chain operations in Kansas.
The United Food and Commercial Workers said employees at Cargill and National Beef were detained, while officials could not enter plant parking lots without warrants.
Kansas slaughtered more than 500,000 cattle in August, representing over 20% of U.S. processing that month.
U.S. cattle slaughter totaled 90,000 on Thursday, down 17,000 from the previous week.
The disruptions are occurring as a small U.S. cattle herd has contributed to record-high beef prices.
- Who
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, meatpacking workers, rancher groups, cattle processors and the United Food and Commercial Workers are involved.
- What
- Expanded ICE enforcement activity is disrupting Kansas meatpacking operations, worker attendance and related cattle supply chains.
- Where
- Kansas, including Dodge City, Liberal and Holcomb, with effects also reported in nearby supply-chain communities.
- When
- The reported disruptions occurred during increased ICE arrests in recent months; national slaughter figures cited were from Thursday, and Kansas processing data covered August.
- Why
- Rancher groups and the union attribute operational problems to employee detentions and absences linked to ICE activity; ICE is seeking people wanted for deportation and people suspected of being in the country without permission.
Industry and Worker Concerns
Immigration Enforcement
Effect on meatpacking operations
Industry and Worker Concerns
Rancher groups and the United Food and Commercial Workers say ICE actions are creating employee absences, detentions and significant disruptions across meatpacking and related supply chains.
Immigration Enforcement
ICE has expanded operations across the country, seeking people wanted for deportation and arresting people agents suspect are in the country without permission.
Access to plant facilities
Industry and Worker Concerns
The union said immigration officials attempted but were unable to enter meatpacking parking lots because they lacked warrants.
Immigration Enforcement
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to requests for comment, so no agency explanation of the parking-lot attempts was provided.
Broader economic effects
Industry and Worker Concerns
Rancher groups say enforcement is having a chilling effect on documented workers and threatening the movement of cattle through a supply chain already affected by tight supplies.
Immigration Enforcement
The article describes enforcement as part of increased arrest activity but does not report an official assessment of its effect on beef production or prices.
Key facts
- Kansas processing share
- More than 20% of U.S. cattle processing in August, according to a USDA report.
- Kansas cattle slaughter
- More than 500,000 cattle were slaughtered in Kansas in August.
- National slaughter
- U.S. cattle slaughter totaled 90,000 on Thursday, down 17,000 from a week earlier.
- ICE arrests
- ICE agents recorded roughly 50,000 arrests per month in July and August, according to federal arrest data and Department of Homeland Security disclosures.
- Worker detention report
- The United Food and Commercial Workers said employees at Cargill and National Beef were detained.
- Industry workforce
- Foreign-born workers represented 45% of meatpacking workers at the start of the pandemic, according to the American Immigration Council.
- Companies operating in Kansas
- National Beef and Cargill operate in Dodge City; National Beef also operates in Liberal, and Tyson Foods operates a plant in Holcomb.
Quotes
Kansas Livestock Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and Texas Cattle Feeders Association
Three rancher and cattle industry organizations representing producers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas
“These ICE operations are having a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented, skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the cattle supply chain moving.”
livemint.com
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