ICE raids trigger backlash from beef industry and Republican lawmakers
Federal immigration raids in beef-producing regions of Republican states have prompted a forceful reaction from industry associations in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, and unusual pushback from Republican officials just weeks out from the midterm elections.
The associations warned the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions “will lead to higher beef prices” at a time when prices of groceries and fuel are already top concerns for voters.
The most recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids occurred in Kansas, near the border with Texas and Oklahoma, and appeared to come without warning or, according to both Kansas senators, cooperation with local authorities.
“When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement,” Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, a strong ally of President Trump who is locked in an unexpectedly tough re-election fight, said in a statement on Wednesday.
That came just days after another Republican in a tough re-election campaign, Representative María Elvira Salazar of Florida, released an ad rebuking “immigration enforcement efforts” that “have gone too far.”
The enforcement activity began Wednesday morning, local officials said, in an area of southwest Kansas that is sometimes called the golden triangle of beef. The officials said they were not given advance notice and received no information about the number of arrests or the identities of those arrested.
“It has been really difficult,” said Keeley Young, the chief communications officer in Liberal, Kansas.
On Friday, the homeland security secretary, Markwayne Mullin, said in a statement that ICE was “not conducting worksite operations in Kansas” but instead had targeted “heinous criminals, including murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers and illegal aliens,” who had final orders of removal.
Ms. Young said it was not the first time that ICE agents had made arrests in the area, but this week’s activity seemed more widespread and less targeted. People were pulled over on the main road to one of the meatpacking plants, she said, causing shifts to be adjusted because of employees who were either already detained or afraid drive to work.
“There are people who have proper documentation and can be here legally that are afraid of going out,” she said. [Continue reading…]