Gary Indiana Finds Itself At Center of Immigration Debate

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson
After initially supporting the idea, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson changed her mind. Joe Raymond / AP, file
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson
After initially supporting the idea, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson changed her mind. Joe Raymond / AP, file

Gary Indiana Finds Itself At Center of Immigration Debate

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A proposal to build a controversial immigrant detention center in Gary, Indiana has hit a snag. 

Florida-based GEO Group hopes to build a $65 million facility to hold undocumented immigrants as they await travel to their country of origin. The company says it would employ up to 200 people and would run the facility for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s the fourth time GEO Group has tried to build such a facility in the Chicago area over the last four years.

But GEO Group needs a zoning variance to build the facility on abandoned industrial land just north of the Gary/Chicago International Airport. Yesterday, Gary’s Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-1 to send an unfavorable recommendation to the Gary City Council, which meets next week. 

WBEZ’s Northwest Indiana Bureau Reporter Michael Puente joins us to talk about opposition to the facility and what happens next. 

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