{"id":159841,"date":"2025-08-20T01:25:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T01:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/159841\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T01:25:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T01:25:15","slug":"nebraska-announces-plan-for-immigration-detention-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/159841\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska announces plan for immigration detention center"},"content":{"rendered":"

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) \u2014 Nebraska announced plans Tuesday for an immigration detention center in the remote southwest corner of the state as President Donald Trump\u2019s administration races to expand<\/a> the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations.<\/p>\n

The facility will be dubbed the \u201cCornhusker Clink,\u201d a play on Nebraska\u2019s nickname of the Cornhusker State and an old slang term for jail. The alliterative name follows in the vein of the previously announced \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d and \u201cDeportation Depot\u201d detention centers in Florida and the \u201cSpeedway Slammer\u201d in Indiana. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Nebraska<\/p>\n

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Agriculture to rollout the USDA\u2019S National Farm Security Action Plan in Washington, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)<\/p>\n

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Agriculture to rollout the USDA\u2019S National Farm Security Action Plan in Washington, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Republican Gov. Jim Pillen said he and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had agreed to use an existing minimum security prison work camp in McCook \u2014 a remote city of about 7,000 people in the middle of the wide-open prairies between Denver and Omaha \u2014 to house people awaiting deportation and being held for other immigration proceedings. It\u2019s expected to be a Midwest hub for detainees from several states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about keeping Nebraskans \u2013 and Americans across our country \u2013 safe,\u201d Pillen said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The facility can accommodate 200 people with plans to expand to 300. McCook is about 210 miles (338 kilometers) west of Lincoln, the state capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Nebraska\u2019s Cornhusker Clink. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the CBP Home App,\u201d Noem said in a separate statement.<\/a><\/p>\n

Noem\u2019s agency posted a picture<\/a> on social media showing ears of corn wearing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats, standing in front of a prison fence.<\/p>\n

The governor said later at a news conference in McCook that the center will have the advantage of being located at an existing facility and near a regional airport. He told reporters he didn\u2019t know if the center would house women as well as men or if children could be held there. He said he first learned the federal government was interested in the facility on Friday.<\/p>\n

Pillen also announced he would order the Nebraska National Guard to provide administrative and logistical support to Nebraska-based immigration agents. About 20 soldiers will be involved. And he said the Nebraska State Patrol would allow six troopers to help federal immigration agents make arrests.<\/p>\n

Adding detention facilities to hold growing number of immigrants arrested<\/p>\n

The Trump administration is adding new detention facilities across the country to hold the growing number of immigrants it has arrested and accused<\/a> of being in the country illegally. ICE centers were holding more than 56,000 immigrants in June, the most since 2019.<\/p>\n

The new and planned facilities include the remote detention center in the Florida Everglades<\/a> known as \u201cAlligator Alcatraz,\u201d<\/a> which opened last month. It\u2019s designed to hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures. When Trump toured it, he suggested it could be a model<\/a> for future lockups nationwide. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Nebraska<\/p>\n

Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Colonel Bryan Waugh, center, flanked by National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Craig W. Strong, left, and Department of Correctional Services Director Rob Jeffreys, speaks about plans for a new immigration detention center and an agreement to allow state troopers to enforce immigration laws at a news conference at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo\/Josh Funk)<\/p>\n

Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Colonel Bryan Waugh, center, flanked by National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Craig W. Strong, left, and Department of Correctional Services Director Rob Jeffreys, speaks about plans for a new immigration detention center and an agreement to allow state troopers to enforce immigration laws at a news conference at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo\/Josh Funk)<\/p>\n

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The Florida facility also been the subject of legal challenges by attorneys who allege violations of due process there, including the rights of detainees to meet with their attorneys, limited access to immigration courts and poor living conditions. Critics have been trying to stop further construction and operations until it comes into compliance with federal environmental laws.<\/p>\n

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week<\/a> that his administration is preparing to open a second facility, dubbed \u201cDeportation Depot,\u201d at a state prison in north Florida. It\u2019s expected to have 1,300 immigration beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000, state officials said.<\/p>\n

Also last week, officials in the rural Tennessee town of Mason<\/a> voted to approve agreements to turn a former prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company, despite loud objections from residents and activists during a contentious public meeting.<\/p>\n

And the Trump administration announced plans earlier this month for a 1,000-bed detention center in Indiana<\/a> that would be dubbed \u201cSpeedway Slammer,\u201d prompting a backlash in the Midwestern state that hosts the Indianapolis 500 auto race.<\/p>\n

Corrections director Rob Jeffreys said the 186 inmates currently at the McCook work camp will be transferred to other state facilities over the next 45 to 60 days. The repurposed facility will be run by the state but will be paid for by the federal government. He said it\u2019s already set up and accredited to hold prisoners, so detainees won\u2019t be housed in tents or other temporary quarters.<\/p>\n

The Nebraska plan has already raised concerns<\/p>\n

In a video<\/a> posted to social media, state Sen. Megan Hunt, an independent, blasted a lack of transparency about plans for a detention center, citing her unfulfilled request to the governor and executive branch for emails and other records.<\/p>\n

She urged people to support local immigrant rights groups.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

Emily Pietrzak holds a sign that reads \u201cICE=Gestapo\u201d as other protesters gather outside the Nebraska governor\u2019s office in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. \u201cI believe our government is hurting people who live in our country and I think we should stand up for each other,\u201d she said. (AP Photo\/Josh Funk)<\/p>\n

Emily Pietrzak holds a sign that reads \u201cICE=Gestapo\u201d as other protesters gather outside the Nebraska governor\u2019s office in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. \u201cI believe our government is hurting people who live in our country and I think we should stand up for each other,\u201d she said. (AP Photo\/Josh Funk)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

\u201cThe No. 1 thing we need to do is protect our neighbors, protect the people in our communities who are being targeted by these horrible people, these horrible organizations that are making choices to lock up, detain, disappear our neighbors and families and friends,\u201d Hunt said.<\/p>\n

Around a half-dozen protesters sat in the hallway outside the governor\u2019s office Tuesday afternoon making signs that said, \u201cNo Nazi Nebraska\u201d and \u201cICE = Gestapo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maghie Miller-Jenkins of Lincoln said she doesn\u2019t think an ICE detention center is a good idea, adding the state should tackle problems like child hunger and homelessness. \u201cThis state has numerous things they could focus on that would benefit the constituents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jack Dura in Fargo, North Dakota, and Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) \u2014 Nebraska announced plans Tuesday for an immigration detention center in the remote southwest corner…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":159842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[69,57,76602,409,92578,2399,92580,15226,3336,50,80,2938,92579,14516,3676,2065,61,67,370,132,68,93],"class_list":{"0":"post-159841","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-general-news","11":"tag-immigrant-detention","12":"tag-immigration","13":"tag-jim-pillen","14":"tag-kristi-noem","15":"tag-megan-hunt","16":"tag-ne-state-wire","17":"tag-nebraska","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-politics","20":"tag-prisons","21":"tag-rob-jeffreys","22":"tag-ron-desantis","23":"tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","24":"tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","25":"tag-u-s-news","26":"tag-united-states","27":"tag-united-states-government","28":"tag-unitedstates","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-washington-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115058490522031453","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}