Illegal Alien Sweep
Concerns Cattlemen

KEARNEY, Neb. —(AP)— A Nebraska Cattlemen official worries that a crackdown on undocumented workers at Nebraska meatpacking plants launched last week could hurt livestock producers.

Cattlemen Executive Vice President Greg Ruehle told members of the Nebraska Beef Council Board meeting in Kearney that records from about 30 beef and pork processing plants were subpoenaed in the crackdown dubbed "Operation Prime Beef."

Officials from the Excel plant at Schuyler said they gave 6000 pages of documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The INS plans to give its lists of undocumented workers to the plants in February and start enforcement March 1.

Livestock industry representatives tried unsuccessfully to get the process slowed during a meeting with immigration officials and Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb. Ruehle said producers are concerned that removing a large number of workers from the processing plants at one time will result in a labor shortage that could slow plant operations and result in less demand for livestock.

Industry officials unsuccessfully lobbied for the INS to give its lists of undocumented workers to the plants before February so they have more time to hire replacement workers before enforcement begins.

Vaughn Bloom, general manager of the Excel plant, outlined for the Beef Council members some of the problems processing plants have in determining whether job applicants are in the country legally. He said plant officials can check to see if a Social Security number is valid for a certain name, but such a check doesn't indicate whether the same number is being used by other people.

Beef Council Director Ted Sherbeck of Ansley said such an enforcement causes major problems in a state like Nebraska, which has an unemployment rate of less than two percent.