LINCOLN, Neb. – Holly Burns angrily slammed her fist down on a restaurant table, turned to her sister and erupted, “We’re taking back Taco Tuesday, one taco at a time.”
On this warm June night in 2025, Holly and Tiffany Burns – fueled by margaritas – were washing down the worries about the future of their Mexican-American community in Lincoln. Somewhere between angry and concerned, they came up with an idea to support the Lincoln immigrant population.
The sisters decided on Taco Tuesdays with a twist. They started a dinner group that meets twice a month, encouraging Lincolnites to take part in discussion around immigration politics while supporting immigrant-owned restaurants. On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, which led to national ICE raids including some in Nebraska. The issue also hit home in Nebraska with the opening of the so-called Cornhusker Clink, a former 280-bed minimum custody prison in McCook that is now an ICE detention facility…