District judge lets Nebraska-ICE prison plans move forward
Source: Nebraska Examiner
By: Zach Wendling - October 27, 2025 12:20 pm
LINCOLN — A district court judge in southwest Nebraska will let the state move forward with Gov. Jim Pillen’s plans to convert a state prison into a detention center for migrants facing deportation proceedings.
Red Willow County District Judge Patrick Heng, in a 17-page ruling Monday, ruled that Pillen and Rob Jeffreys, director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, did not violate the Nebraska Constitution or state law by entering into a Sept. 30 contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to convert the state’s Work Ethic Camp in McCook into a regional ICE detention center.
ICE certified the facility last week, Pillen announced Thursday. State and federal officials have said they expect to house the first detainees by the end of this week. A hearing on the motion was held Friday, and the lawsuit will continue.
“It is clear that the current situation with the department and ICE detainees was never contemplated when the statutes were created, but the language utilized by the Legislature is broad enough to allow the defendants to take the action they have chosen,” Heng wrote.
The Work Ethic Camp in McCook, Neb. Oct. 24, 2025. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
Read more: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/27/district-judge-lets-nebraska-ice-prison-plans-move-forward/