As rumors swirl that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were spotted in Monmouth, local law enforcement and the corporate office of Smithfield Foods say they’re not aware of any local raids or ICE presence.
“To my knowledge, there is no truth to those claims,” said Chief Joe Switzer of the Monmouth Police Department. “The only information I have seen in reference to this is what has been on social media.”
Smithfield’s pork-processing plant in Monmouth employs more than 1,600 people, many of them immigrants. That's reflected in the local school district, where dozens of languages are spoken.
Smithfield spokesperson Ray Atkinson said the company was not aware of any federal immigration presence in Monmouth or at the Monmouth plant this week, as the Trump administration began to enhance immigration enforcement 200 miles northeast in Chicago.
Atkinson said Smithfield Foods’ policy is to hire only individuals who are authorized to work in the United States, so immigration enforcement wouldn’t affect production or operations at the Monmouth plant.
“We support all efforts to eliminate identity fraud and ensure that only those legally authorized to work in the U.S. are in our workforce,” Atkinson said.
He said Smithfield’s pre-hire employee screening process includes E-Verify, the national system that validates employment eligibility of U.S. citizens and non-citizens.
Outside of employees hired by Smithfield to work at the plant, Atkinson said the company’s agreements with temporary labor and sanitation contractors have provisions for compliance with employment eligibility laws and using E-Verify.
Switzer said local law enforcement would not be able to assist in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law in Monmouth for undocumented residents.
That’s per the Illinois Trust Act, which states local law enforcement “may not participate, support, or assist” in enforcement of such law.
“There are two narrow circumstances when local law enforcement may provide these types of assistance — when we are presented with a federal criminal warrant and when we are otherwise required by a specific federal law,” Switzer said.
A spokesperson for Carl Sandburg College said the college was not aware of any ICE presence on the Galesburg campus, despite a rumor circulating to the contrary.
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