DHS announced plans last summer to repurpose a Nebraska rehabilitation prison as a federal immigration detention center.
OMAHA, Neb. (CN) – A Nebraska judge has thrown out a former state senator’s bid to stop a rural correctional facility from being used as an immigration detention center for the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
On Friday DECISION Dismissing the case with prejudice, Red Willow County District Court Judge Patrick M. Heng said Gov. Jim Pillen had the authority to enter into contracts with the federal government and allowed Corrections Director Rob Jeffreys to transfer inmates at the Work Ethic Camp near McCook, Nebraska, to another facility so it could accommodate Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The court finds that the director has the authority to exercise all powers and perform all necessary and proper duties in carrying out his or her responsibilities in relation to the labor camp and the inmates,” Heng wrote. “That would necessarily involve moving these detainees to another facility, even if it was away from the McCook facilities just to house ICE detainees.”
Former state Sen. DiAnna Schimek and 13 McCook area residents unsuspecting in October, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security’s plan to use the facility violated Nebraska’s separation of powers, saying only the state legislature can authorize changes to penal institutions.
The plaintiffs said the Work Ethics Camp is a state-owned minimum-custody correctional facility, while the immigration detention is a federal civil matter. They claimed that repurposing the site requires legislative approval and funding.
Heng used to rule the transformation of the Work Ethics Camp can proceed as planned, refusing a temporary injunction to stop it, finding no violation of the separation of powers. But he still found the plaintiffs standing and allowed the case to proceed.
However, Heng agreed Friday with Pillen and Jeffereys’ argument to dismiss that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted because their plans were permitted under state law. Defendants argued that Nebraska law “entrusts the department with the administration of its facilities to serve persons engaged in the department, including persons engaged in the department through lawful agreement with the federal government.”
“The court does not read the labor camp statutes as restrictive as suggested by plaintiffs with respect to the director’s obligations under § 83-4,142 and other applicable statutes,” Heng wrote.
“This is a great victory and the right decision. I appreciate the presiding judge’s considered and well-reasoned opinion in affirming the state’s authority to use the WEC for this purpose,” Pillen said in a statement. “This partnership with President Trump’s administration to deliver on his promise to secure our country has been a success and will continue.”
Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in August the plan to use the Work Ethics Camp for one of the president’s colorfully named immigration detention centers, calling the Nebraska facility the “Cornhusker Clink.”
The move proved controversial, even in a state that is deeply conservative outside its urban areas. Mindy Rush Chipman, executive director of the ACLU Nebraska, called it “heartbreaking” in comments to local media.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the plaintiffs’ attorney said they were considering options on how to proceed.
“We are disappointed with the court’s decision and are reviewing today’s opinion. We will speak with our clients and await an appeal on this matter,” said Nick Grandgenett, senior immigration and community attorney with Nebraska Appleseed.
Immigration detainees began arriving at the former Work Ethics Camp in late 2025. A state senator who visited the facility in December estimated it housed 100 to 150, though reports say state officials have declined to provide a specific number, citing security concerns.
An analysis found that at least seven people involved in Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis area were in the McCook facility, in addition to about 20 others being held in Nebraska county jails, hours away from their homes in Minnesota.
The Work Ethic Camp was a minimum custodial facility that featured rehabilitation programs for those sent there. Most have been sent elsewhere in the Nebraska prison systemamong the most populous in the United States.
In his statement, Pillen said the former Work Ethics Camp site was being modified to allow up to 300 people, and the state was working with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to ensure immigration detainees were “appropriately and safely housed.”
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