(NewsNation) — A new immigration detention center in Nebraska will “make a big difference for our country,” Gov. Jim Pillen told NewsNation.
The facility, dubbed the “Cornhusker Clink,” will give federal immigration officers 280 beds to use at an existing prison work camp in McCook, Nebraska. The prison’s current inmates will be relocated, and it is expected to open in the coming months.
“We’re really, really proud of the team, what our team’s done, and what we’re embarking on,” Pillen, a Republican, said on Thursday’s airing of “NewsNation Live.”
Nebraska is the latest in a growing number of states opening centers aiding in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Other locations include the Florida Everglades, outside Indianapolis and at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas.
“We’ll be in a location for the Central Plains,” Pillen said. “Obviously, Nebraska is in the middle of the United States, will be able to have a big impact on the large population in the foothills of the Rockies.”
Pillen also pointed to nearby McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport as a perk, allowing Nebraskan officials to move detainees in “an expedient way.”
Some in the area have voiced their opposition to the facility, for which the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services would partner with the Department of Homeland Security.
Around a half-dozen protesters sat in the hallway outside the governor’s office last week with signs reading, “No Nazi Nebraska” and “ICE = Gestapo,” the Associated Press reported.
In a video posted to social media, independent state Sen. Megan Hunt 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.
When asked about these transparency concerns, Pillen told NewsNation the center has been a long time in the making, with all possibilities considered: “We don’t talk about it until it’s ready to roll.”
“It’s an accredited facility. We have a team of 84 people in the Department of Corrections that are outstanding in what they do,” he added. “We’ll have them more trained up. That facility is phenomenally secure, and we can move quickly.”
The expansion is part of President Donald Trump’s recently passed “big, beautiful” tax cuts and spending package, which provided funding for 80,000 new beds to be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Author: Anna Kutz
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