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Meatpacking groups say ICE arrests could lead to higher prices and revenue loss · Best of: Features

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  Meat packing groups say ice arrests could lead to higher prices and
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  revenue loss. Written by Heather Hollingsworth and Valerie Gonzalez. This
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  article is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlett. Mission
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  Kansas, the AP, meat packing industry groups raised concerns Friday that recent
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  heightened immigration operations in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma have caused employees to
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  miss work, leading to problems at meat-related businesses that could ultimately raise
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  prices for consumers. The Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association,
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  and Kansas Livestock Association said in a statement that U.S. Immigration and
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  customs enforcement operations have prompted delays in the shipment of thousands of
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  cattle, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue. The groups say
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  ice operations have disrupted operations at feedlots, dairy processors, feed and grain
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  companies, and transportation hubs. Scarlett Mabinger, the Vice President of Communications for
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  the Kansas Livestock Association, said they have received multiple calls from their
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  members reporting an increase in absences at their southwest Kansas businesses after
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  these communities noticed an increase in federal immigration officers this week. The
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  Department of Homeland Security confirmed their presence in Kansas, but said they
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  are not conducting work site raids. DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen said
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  in a statement that ICE has been targeting heinous criminals, but he
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  didn't give a breakdown on the number of people arrested. Several meatpacking
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  plants in The
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  Kansas cities of Dodge City, Liberal and Garden City typically process thousands
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  of cattle every day, but Maybinger said some had to shut down
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  temporarily and send cattle back to feedlots. So then they're having to
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  be reverted back to the feed yard to wait, which of course
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  causes an animal health issue causes financial issues, she said. The Kansas
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  Livestock Association did not receive reports of arrests happening at work sites,
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  but community members started noticing the arrival of officers on Tuesday. Amy
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  Soberanes a twenty five year old community organizer in Dodge City, Kansas,
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  has been helping deliver food to people who are afraid to leave
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  their homes. She said cleaning crews stop showing up at some locations,
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  forcing plants to close. I have worked with so many Moms who
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  have told me that they don't know what they're gonna do because
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  their provider has been taken, Soberanin said. I have seen kids cry
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  to me because their mom and dad are gone. It brought a
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  lot of hurt, and a lot of pain, and a lot of
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  trauma for our community. Several of the Kansas cities where ICE enforcement
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  appears to have increased have large Hispanic populations. Their populations have risen
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  in the last decade from new immigrant arrivals, mostly from Cuba and
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  Haiti, according to federal data obtained and analyzed by the Associated Press.
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  Voters in these counties heavily favored Donald Trump in the last election,
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  with more than sixty five percent casting ballots in favor of the
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  Republican Party. Republican politicians, who typically have sided with Trump on immigration,
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  are making careful pivots in their messaging. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, a
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  Republican incumbent in a tight race against a Democrat, and Senator Jerry
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  Moran said they were both concerned and urged the Federal Administration to
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  coordinate with local authorities. Secretary Mullen assured me these warrants are only
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  for the purpose of arresting individuals who have been charged with criminal
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  activities, Moran said in a statement shared on social media. The administration
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  has repeated claims of targeting immigrants with criminal histories, but recent data
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  suggests more than half of those arrested in July had not been
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  convicted of any crimes and were not facing any criminal charges. Less
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  than a quarter of those arrested had been convicted of a crime.
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  Members of the Kansas Livestock Association are urging federal officials to conduct
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  more targeted enforcement actions and provide more transparency. Beef prices have soared
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  to record highs in the past year, largely thanks to the smallest
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  national herd in seventy five years. The Trump administration has made efforts
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  to bring down prices, like allowing some beef imports without high tariffs
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  and reopening the border to cattle from Mexico, which had been closed,
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  because of an outbreak of a pest that can be deadly to
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  cattle, called the New World Screwworm. If it continues for a long
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  enough period of time, then it could therefore lead to increased prices,
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  because we are not processing the amount of beef that consumers are
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  currently demanding, Mabinger said. Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.