Nebraska plan for an immigrant detention center faces backlash and uncertainty
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — No formal agreement has been signed to convert a remote state prison in Nebraska into the latest immigration detention center for President Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown, more than three weeks since the governor announced the plan and as lawmakers and nearby residents grow increasingly skeptical.
Corrections officials insist the facility could start housing hundreds of male detainees next month, with classrooms and other spaces at the McCook Work Ethic Camp retrofitted for beds. However, lawmakers briefed last week by state officials said they got few concrete answers about cost, staffing and oversight.
“There was more unanswered questions than answered questions in terms of what they know,” state Sen. Wendy DeBoer said.
Officials in the city of McCook were caught off guard in mid-August when Republican Gov. Jim Pillen announced that the minimum-security prison in rural southwest Nebraska would serve as a Midwest hub for immigration detainees