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Gary City Hall
public domainGARY, Ind. (AP) — City leaders in Gary have voted against allowing an $80 million immigration detention center to be built in the northwestern Indiana city.
The vote was 9-0 Wednesday night to deny a request for variances on property that multinational prison operator GEO Group Inc. wanted to use for the 788-bed detention center near the Gary/Chicago International Airport.
The company said the center would have created hundreds of jobs and generated $1 million in tax revenue. But opponents argued that the jobs would have high turnover and employees would come from outside the area.
A coalition of groups opposed to the detention center, including Black Lives Matter, held a rally prior to the meeting Wednesday.
GEO Group owns a 40-acre site in Hobart, where it also faces opposition from residents and officials.
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