Senate candidate Dan Osborn contacted sheriff about Kellogg’s replacement workers in 2021

Dan Osborn, the independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, said in a December 2021 podcast that his union had contacted federal immigration authorities about allegations that Kellogg’s was using undocumented workers as replacement labor during a strike at an Omaha cereal plant. The 77-day strike ended on December 21, 2021, when workers ratified a new contract.

Campaign response Osborn’s campaign told CNN that he personally contacted only the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department to ask how such allegations should be reported. The campaign said he then passed that guidance to his team, and that other individuals contacted federal authorities on their own.

An ICE spokesperson declined to confirm or deny whether the agency received any related tip, citing policy on protecting the identity of people who report suspected immigration violations. Kellogg’s did not respond to a request for comment.

Political context Osborn is running against Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.

He has criticized some Trump administration immigration enforcement actions while also supporting border security measures and a path to citizenship for some long-term undocumented residents. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 72 percent of Republicans viewed ICE favorably, while 78 percent of Democrats viewed the agency unfavorably.