JBS Ottumwa, Other Plants Fire Immigrant Workers

More than 200 immigrant workers at the JBS pork processing plant in Ottumwa, Iowa, have been terminated and face deportation after the Trump administration ended several legal immigration programs, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the CHNV parole program. The affected workers, primarily from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, have had their work visas revoked and must leave the United States, with JBS offering $1,000 to assist with self-deportation. Company representatives state they are complying with federal guidelines, while the Trump administration frames the move as enforcement of immigration law and ending exploitation of temporary programs. Local union leaders and Ottumwa's mayor have raised concerns about the significant economic and social impact, noting the workers' essential roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. This represents the largest such termination in recent union memory, and similar actions have begun at other Iowa meatpacking plants. The United Food & Commercial Workers union warns the loss of skilled employees threatens local economies and the food supply chain.