Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

My family and I lived in McCook for 8 1/2 years, and though we now reside in southern Arizona, our hearts remain with this town. It is with that love that I write to express my profound concern about the proposed conversion of the McCook Work Ethic Camp into a 300-bed ICE detention facility. The lack of public process and the hasty nature of the decision, made with no transparency and announced just three days after local officials were informed, with plans to be up and running in only two months, is a slap in the face to your community.

The triteness and haphazardness of the Trump administration is embarrassing. Their approach is a tired repetition of past policies and rhetoric. The fact that Homeland Security would post a picture of ears of corn wearing ICE hats to announce this cruel facility speaks for itself. As Eve Samples, Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades, said about the detention facility in Florida: “This is a very common sense law that requires the government to look before it leaps… and none of that was done.” McCook residents are no exception. You deserve a say in a project that will fundamentally change the character of your town.

The horror of these detention centers is not abstract. I see firsthand the fear it creates in my new home with a heavy immigrant population. Pediatricians are now forced to help parents plan for the possible detention of their children. They help families draft legal documents just to ensure their U.S.-citizen children don’t end up in foster care if a parent is arrested.

The economic argument is also hollow. While it may bring some jobs, these are often with for-profit companies. A 2018 study found that such punitive immigration measures have adverse effects on total employment and strain local services, including child welfare.

When I think of McCook, I think of its strong community values. Please don’t allow it to become part of a system that profits from human suffering. You must reject this proposal and advocate for solutions that strengthen your community, not those that align us with a system of detention and cruelty.

Sincerely,

Kerri Long, a concerned former resident of McCook

Editor’s Note: Letters to the Editor are submitted by community members. They reflect the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views, values, or editorial stance of McCook News Now.