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Nebraska is one of the top meat producers in the U.S. It also has one of the worst labor shortages in the country. For every 100 jobs, there are only 39 workers. A report released last January by the state's economic chamber says Nebraska has no choice but to welcome immigrants to, quote, "address the workforce gap." But that message runs counter to President-elect Trump's pledge to carry out mass deportations. NPR's Jasmine Garsd reports.
JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE: Every so often Al Juhnke, executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, says that he'll get a phone call from a farmer. It goes something like this.
AL JUHNKE: Al, I got a great idea.
GARSD: On how to solve Nebraska's severe labor shortage.
JUHNKE: Why don't we invite any immigrant - legal, illegal, I don't care - invite them to Nebraska, 'cause we have lots of openings out on our farm, and we need help.
GARSD: Juhnke smiles warily. He and several dozen other Nebraska advocacy and business groups have formed an alliance to demand a reform of federal immigration laws and state policy. They want an expansion of worker visa programs and a pathway to residency for immigrants already here.
JUHNKE: And these are good-paying jobs in the plants.
GARSD: Juhnke says attracting labor is not about wages. The average pay for a meat trimmer is close to $18 an hour, well above the state minimum of 13.50.
JUHNKE: People say, well, just double or triple the pay. You'll get United States citizens to work. No, you won't.
GARSD: Nebraska needs immigrants. But Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted for incoming President Donald Trump, who has promised to carry out mass deportations. When asked about it, Juhnke echoes what a lot of people here say.
JUHNKE: I think those same voters, at this point in time, will tell you it's just not going to happen.
ELSA R ARANDA: Tell that to the families that got separated and still haven't found their children.
GARSD: Elsa R. Aranda is the state director of LULAC, the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the U.S. She says she wants to talk about protecting immigrant lives, not just labor.
ARANDA: Let's harness immigrant labor. Let's harness - like an animal. It's dehumanizing.
GARSD: At the end of the day, she says Nebraskans have no other choice.
ARANDA: Yes, yes. We know people hate immigrants that are not here legally - deport them all, etc., etc. Well, what are you going to do when you don't have workers?
GARSD: The governor of Nebraska, Jim Pillen, recently assembled a task force to help address the labor shortage. NPR reached out to his office for comment and did not receive a response. Pillen has also pledged his support for incoming President Trump deporting unauthorized immigrants who pose a threat. But Trump has repeatedly said he plans a much larger-scale deportation. And in the meatpacking towns, the rumor mill is working overtime.
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GARSD: You can see the city of Fremont on the horizon, the billowing smoke towers from the massive meat plants. If you buy chicken at Costco, it likely comes from here. If you eat SPAM, it possibly got processed here. And on a Friday evening, its streets and bars are eerily empty. We eventually meet one man who is willing to talk if we withhold his last name. He's scared of retaliation. Richie is from El Salvador. He says he's here legally.
RICHIE: (Speaking Spanish).
GARSD: After the election, his plant let go of many undocumented workers, but now, there's not enough people to fill the jobs. So he's been picking up double shifts. He's grateful for the work, but his coworkers - they joke constantly about being deported. They assume their fate is sealed.
RICHIE: (Speaking Spanish).
GARSD: In Central America, there's an expression - (speaking Spanish) - a hard swallow. And that's what he says he does when they joke. He's applying for asylum for political persecution in El Salvador and says his life could be at risk if he got sent back. So Richie - he goes to work with his papers tucked into his uniform.
NPR reached out to several meat processing plants to inquire about how they're dealing with the possibility of raids. We received no response. Off mic, Richie asks me, is it true that the U.S. government is going to start offering $1,000 for each undocumented immigrant person reported to the authorities? He plays me the TikTok where he saw it.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
GARSD: This is false. But Richie and his coworkers have watched it several times.
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GARSD: On the other end of the state, in the city of North Platte, the situation might come to a head soon. The population in North Platte has been declining for the last decade or so. Unlike so many other Nebraska towns, there are no meat processing factories here for now. This summer, a plant called sustainable beef is slated to open. The company declined an interview with NPR, but the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corporation confirmed that over 800 jobs will be created, an estimated $1.2 billion added to the local economy every year. A large sign just off the highway reads, the whole world is understaffed. Be kind to those who showed up.
JANET EVANS: We understand the economic necessity of it, and we're not stupid.
GARSD: Janet Evans goes to the Episcopal Church of our Savior in North Platte. Before we talk, the parishioners express their apprehension. Is this going to be yet another story about a town that voted against its own interests, for mass deportations when what they need is immigrant labor?
EVANS: As a rule, we are practical, and we are nice, and we like our neighbors.
GARSD: She's part of a program that will pair newly arrived migrant families who come to work at the plant with host families.
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GARSD: As she gives us a tour of the church, a black-and-white photo stands out of a Japanese man sitting in a jail cell - Father Hiram Kano, part of a wave of Japanese migrants who came to North Platte in the 1920s to work in the beet fields. He was eventually taken to an internment camp. In the Episcopalian faith, he's known as the Nebraska saint. Evans sighs. She says she's bracing for what the next four years will look like for immigrants.
EVANS: I do not know what that looks like. It is terrifying to me too.
GARSD: But she also believes the future looks bright for North Platte. Soon, the new plant will open. More people will come to Platte.
EVANS: We will have lots of little boutiques. We'll have a diverse, lovely school system. We will have a growing number of people who are bilingual. And that is what I dream of.
GARSD: Her door is open, but is America's?
Jasmine Garsd, NPR News, Nebraska.
(SOUNDBITE OF TENDAI SONG, "TIME IN OUR LIVES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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