As its industrial jobs did not require high-level language skills, it drew thousands of immigrant workers, mostly from eastern and southern Europe.
[citation needed] Structural changes to the meatpacking industry in the 1960s, including decentralization of operations, cost the city 10,000 jobs.
Many residents are descended from the Czech, Irish, Italian, Latino, Lithuanian, and Polish immigrants who made up the original workforce in the meatpacking industry; they were primarily Roman Catholic in religion.
In recent decades, South Omaha has seen an influx of new immigrants representing Hispanic and Sudanese populations.
In addition to the churches, in the early part of the 20th century, the Lithuanian community published a newspaper, known as the Bell of the West.