Residents to meet about proposed immigrant detention center in Crete
STAFF REPORTS January 8, 2012 7:28PM
Updated: February 10, 2012 8:45AM
A group of citizens who are against a proposed detention center for immigrants in Crete plan to hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Crete Township Hall, 1367 Wood St.
They have at least one congressman on their side. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) on Friday expressed his opposition to the plan, saying in a news release, “I don’t want the south suburbs to become famous for prisons and for breaking up families.”
The proposal calls for construction of a center to detain up to 750 illegal immigrants at a site in an industrial area. Crete officials have been working to negotiate rights to build the prison through a public-private partnership.
“It is ironic that at a time when President Obama is seeking to allow law-abiding immigrants to stay in this country while applying for legal status, the village of Crete wants to build a prison where undocumented immigrants can be rounded up and locked away,” Jackson said in the release. “Incarcerating immigrants and breaking up their families is mean-spirited and wrong.”
Jackson also reiterated his support for a South Suburban Airport.
“Prisons are de-development. No homeowner wants to live next to a prison. No new business wants to locate next to a prison. Crete should join its neighboring communities in support of developing a new airport that would create positive development opportunities for the region and the state,” Jackson said in the release.
