'Keep pushing forward': South Omaha community turns a day of hardship into joy after last year's June ICE operationOMAHA, Neb. —The South Omaha community shows resilience, one year after the Glenn Valley Foods immigration enforcement. They're calling today a "Día de Alegría" or "Day of Joy."The June immigration operation is long over, but the effects still linger.A local business said Día de Alegría will bring the community together."We can come together as a whole, and just keep pushing forward so all we can do," El Jefe Bar owner Axel Mares said.He said when ICE detained people at Glenn Valley Foods on June 10th 2025, his revenue dropped 40 percent.He said seats that were once filled with regulars now sit empty. "We usually have karaoke nights. We have regulars for those, and a lot of those people would have been gone," Mares said.Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia said he wants Día de Alegría to breathe life back into the South 24th Street Corridor."A lot of them are still struggling with revenue and foot traffic," Garcia said. "So all people of Omaha and beyond are welcome to come support our local immigrant community."The Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement's social work team said the operation had long-term effects on the 54 families they work with."They were worried about utilities. They were worried about different basic financial things that needed to happen," CIRA’s social work director Monica Meier said.She said the trauma from that day still remains. "I don't think most people have an understanding of having that level of fear and anxiety all the time. For now, a year, without an ability to shut it off," Meier said.She said the vast majority of families they work with have U.S. born children."When you had that conversation of dad has been deported, mom doesn't think she can be here without dad. Mom wants to self-deport; what does that mean for the sixth grader who's never been to whatever home country is?" she said.KETV NewsWatch 7 reached out to Homeland Security Investigations — who headed the Glenn Valley Foods operation — about the status of all 76 people detained but have received no response.We do know the Nebraska U.S. Attorney's Office sentenced one detainee for failing to comply with officials and arming himself with a box cutter.He will serve a 14-month sentence and be deported to his home country after.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |