Agricultural Personnel Management Program
University of California

3/16/00 News Report -- Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A stalled U.S. Immigration and Naturalization program targeting illegal meatpacking workers in Iowa and Nebraska was heavily criticized for unfairly singling out Hispanics.

"By focusing on industries with high concentrations of Latinos ... it is very clear that this was a program that shone the spotlight on one racial group," said Lourdes Gouveia, a University of Nebraska at Omaha sociology professor.

Gouveia was one of 25 Nebraskans appointed to a task force headed by Lt. Gov. Dave Maurstad looking into INS enforcement in the state.

The group met for one of the last times Wednesday and gave low marks to Operation Vanguard.

The INS came under fire last year for the program that had agents obtaining lists of workers at meatpacking plants to look for illegal immigrants. The program was put on hold last summer.

The task force agreed that Operation Vanguard was ineffective, and members said they favored providing more visas to non-citizens to meet the demands of the tight labor market.

During the three-hour meeting focusing on Operation Vanguard the INS was charged with violating privacy, reducing livestock prices, creating an uncomfortable work atmosphere and increasing the number of people receiving state aid.

INS Regional Director Mark Reed, who is not on the task force, emphasized that preliminary results from Operation Vanguard were an incomplete measure of the program's effectiveness.

"Vanguard never materialized," Reed said. "I will concede if we leave Vanguard where it is now it will not be effective ... but it was not conceived that way."

The task force Wednesday answered questions posed to its four committees in October.

- Does Operation Vanguard belong in the workplace?

Milo Mumgaard, director of the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest in Lincoln, said INS had an enforcement role in workplaces where undocumented workers were suspected, but not in an industry-wide post-hire program such as Operation Vanguard.

Mumgaard's committee recommended improved employee verification processes before a worker is hired.

He said Operation Vanguard's results were minimal and goals were not met.

- Has the program improved meatpacking working conditions?

Gouveia said she found little evidence of claims that Operation Vanguard improved working conditions at meatpacking plants.

- What is the impact on the state's livestock industry?

Paul Ruwe, with Nebraska Farm Bureau, said the program's delays created a backlog of livestock, which reduced prices for state producers.

- What is the impact on communities?

Legislative aide Ed Hoffman, who spoke on behalf of state Sen. Ray Aguilar, said INS enforcement caused increases in case loads for state Spanish speaking social service workers and increased demands at food pantries and community funded social services.

Maurstad said the task force will possibly meet within a month to discuss their final recommendations.