McCOOK, Neb. (KSNB) – Some McCook residents are uneasy after it was announced that federal detainees would be held at a facility in their town.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen held a press conference Tuesday evening, announcing a partnership with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, and the use of the McCook (Work Ethic Camp WEC) to house people awaiting deportation and other immigration proceedings.
Governor Pillen says that his main goal is to help keep Nebraskans safe, and he believes that additional cooperation with ICE, and the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown, is the way to go.
“I think that the one thing that all of us, all of us, agree on, the highest calling in government is to keep us safe,” Governor Pillen said. “What has taken place at the border, if everybody here would be able to see it, you’d get shivers of seeing what took place.”
Governor Pillen said that the detainees who are housed in the facility must have committed more than an immigration violation to be sent there, and that he expects the facility to act like a hub for the region.
“The folks that are being arrested would be minimum and low risk. Expectation would be that most would be here from five to seven days, to 50 days,” Governor Pillen said.
As Governor Pillen spoke to reporters at the McCook Airport, a crowd of dozens gathered in the parking lot outside to protest, or learn more about the facility.
One man Local4 spoke to, who did not want to be identified, said that he wasn’t there to protest, but wanted to learn about the center. He added that he was disappointed the plans came together quickly, and without input from the citizens of McCook.
Others, like Hannah Clapper, were there to protest the facility for a variety of reasons.
“First of all,” Clapper said, “We didn’t get any say so. None of us. We barely found out yesterday, and as far as I’m concerned, the Work Ethic Camp is a low minimum security prison. So, why are you gonna hold mean immigrants in a place that, like, is five miles away from our school?”
Clapper was also concerned with the allegations that ICE has been targeting people based off the color of their skin, not their criminal record.
“Some people do not have a voice,” Clapper said. “Some people cannot come out here today and speak what they believe in because their rights have been taken, or they never had a chance at rights. Some people were brought here across the border by their parents and they had no option to come here, you know? So they’re not able to be here and fight for what’s right. So I am.”
Clapper wasn’t the only one with this concern. Another woman at the protest, Maria Aguirre, held a sign that said, “My mom is not a criminal for wanting a better life!”
When asked about her sign, and why she was there, Aguirre teared up.
“I’m out here in support of my mother,” Aguirre said. “She was an immigrant, thankfully she’s legalized now, but my whole family is immigrants, so this means a lot to me. ICE terrifies my whole family. And, bringing this to the community really terrifies me because I’m scared of losing my family. They’re all legal, but at the end of the day, they’re still taking legal Mexicans and taking them away from their families and that’s not right. That’s not okay. And that’s why I’m here today, to speak for those who can’t.”
During the press conference, Local4 pressed Governor Pillen about whether or not detainees who may be legal citizens and taken by accident would be housed at the WEC in McCook.
“The fact is we are focused,” Governor Pillen responded. “As your governor, I am focused on keeping us safe. We are focused 100% on getting people that came here, that are, that came here illegally, that are criminals and terrorists, folks is bad. These people are threats to our community and we need to have them removed. That’s what I say.”
There is a long way to go before the facility becomes operational for ICE, with McCook’s Mayor, Linda Taylor, uncertain about what the future holds for the city.
“Because the meeting was brief, we didn’t receive a whole lot of details, and we were told more information will be shared in the days ahead,” Taylor said during Tuesday’s news conference. “I know our community has questions. … We will work cooperatively with the governor’s team and with ICE to learn more and to communicate to everyone what we are learning.”
This did little to calm citizens nerves, as cheers of “Coward!” erupted as Governor Pillen’s plane took off from the airport.
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