ICE-Supporting Republican Governor Reportedly Employs Undocumented Workers

Screenshot via Gov. Jim Pillen on X

Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — but a new investigation found that the governor’s multimillion-dollar hog business has employed undocumented workers for years.

The New York Times and Flatwater Free Press reported Wednesday that Pillen Family Farms has employed both legal and undocumented migrant workers as the company grew into one of the country’s largest hog producers.

At least 20 Pillen farms employed undocumented workers, according to court records and interviews conducted by the outlets with more than two dozen current and former employees. Six former employees acknowledged that they lacked legal status while working for the company, while at least a dozen Pillen workers were charged between 2015 and 2024 with using fake or stolen identification to secure employment, according to the report.

Pillen’s office denied that he knowingly employed undocumented workers.

“Jim Pillen never knowingly hired an illegal immigrant and went above and beyond the legal requirements to verify the immigration status of his employees,” spokeswoman Laura Strimple told the outlets.

Pillen, who is seeking re-election this fall with Trump’s endorsement, has increasingly aligned himself with the president’s immigration agenda, the outlets reported. Shortly after Trump returned to office, Pillen ordered the Nebraska State Patrol to work with ICE on immigration enforcement. He also permitted ICE to use a former state prison — dubbed the “Cornhusker Clink” — to detain hundreds of people.

“The criminal illegal aliens who have invaded our country must be removed,” Pillen wrote on social media in December. “I will do everything in my power to stand strong with President Trump to get the job done.”

The Times and Flatwater investigation, however, described undocumented labor as an “open secret” at some Pillen operations.

Former employee David Armendariz, who said he overstayed a tourist visa and worked at two Pillen farms until 2023, told the outlets that a manager accepted a fake driver’s license when he was hired. He said workers could use identities that were widely understood not to be their own.

“Everyone knows that it’s not your name,” Armendariz said, “but they don’t ask you what your name is.”

Pillen Family Farms co-CEO Sarah Pillen, the governor’s daughter, offered a similar denial to her father’s spokeswoman, adding, “We have never knowingly hired an illegal immigrant.”

The governor himself declined the outlets’ interview requests and written questions.

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