Nebraska hearing draws broad opposition, questions over plan to convert McCook 'Work Ethic Camp' into ICE detention center

Lincoln — Nebraska lawmakers and more than 70 public testifiers pressed state officials and witnesses on an administration plan to convert the Work Ethic Camp (WEC) near McCook into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, citing unresolved safety, legal and operational questions.

“Who has jurisdiction?” asked Sen. Terrell McKinney (D–Omaha), chair of the Urban Affairs Committee, as he opened the committee’s public hearing. McKinney repeatedly criticized the governor’s office and the Department of Correctional Services for declining to appear and answer questions in public.

The hearing centered on the August announcement that Governor Jim Pillen had offered WEC — a minimum‑security state facility currently housing people in transitional programming — to federal immigration authorities. Doug Coeburnick, the Legislature’s Inspector General of Corrections, told senators WEC was “originally designed for 100 people” and has housed as many as about 200; his office reported the facility’s operational capacity as 125. Coeburnick said the housing unit is dormitory style with three 50‑bed galleries and two smaller galleries (24 and 26 beds), plus multipurpose rooms, a cafeteria that doubles as visitation space, and vocational and classroom space.

Coeburnick warned senators of two immediate concerns if state usage changes: “First, where will the men who have been at WEC or would have typically gone there in the future reside? And then the second is: can the programs provided at WEC during this key transitional phase for some men be replicated at another facility?” He said programming at WEC includes substance‑use treatment and a roughly 30‑week domestic‑violence class, and that about 20 participants typically leave the facility each day on supervised work crews.

Multiple senators and witnesses pressed for basic operational details that the administration did not provide at the hearing: whether the facility would be male, female or mixed; who would pay for medical care for detainees; whether immigration judges or reliable legal access would be available nearby; and how the conversion would affect staffing and other Nebraska prisons. Coeburnick said staffing at WEC recently totaled about 98 positions with nine vacancies (three in security and several in behavioral health and food service) and that behavioral health roles have been “difficult to fill.”

Public commenters — including civil‑rights groups, clergy, local residents, former corrections staff and mental‑health professionals — urged the Legislature to halt or reconsider the conversion. Spike Eicholt of ACLU Nebraska testified that the state should not be “used for a large scale federal detainment camp,” arguing that prior Nebraska agency briefings had been uneven and that national statistics show most people detained by the current federal immigration enforcement regime have not been convicted of violent crimes.

Several public witnesses described community and family impacts. Holly Burns (spelled in testimony) and other McCook area residents and faith leaders said the camp has served rehabilitation and reentry purposes and that repurposing it for immigration detention would harm local economies, programs and families. Multiple speakers told the committee they feared that detaining people far from counsel and family would materially reduce access to justice.

Committee members debated jurisdictional authority to examine the conversion. Some senators said Urban Affairs has oversight of building codes and physical plant issues, while others said Judiciary could hold hearings on legal and custodial matters. McKinney said the Legislature’s constitutional oversight of penal institutions supports Urban Affairs’s involvement. Members discussed sending a letter to Judiciary asking for a public briefing and — if necessary — seeking the Executive Board’s subpoena power to compel agency testimony.

Witnesses and testifiers also raised technical compliance issues. Coeburnick noted that the facility was built to a smaller design capacity than the numbers cited in press releases, and witnesses highlighted the difference between “design capacity” and the statutory measure of “operational capacity,” which has been changed in recent years. Public and legislative questions also focused on fire, building and accreditation standards: Coeburnick identified American Correctional Association accreditation standards as another applicable benchmark and said the state fire marshal and building regulators were invited but did not testify.

No formal actions or votes were taken at the hearing. Senators said the committee would pursue follow‑up, including letters to other committees and agencies and requests for more documentation and a public briefing from the governor’s office and the Department of Correctional Services.

Why it matters: The conversion would reshape a state correctional asset and could shift beds, programming and staff across Nebraska’s prison system. Witnesses warned that moving programming out of WEC could slow reentry and parole timelines, and that moving WEC residents to overcrowded penitentiary housing risks deteriorating conditions and safety. Many testifiers urged the Legislature to seek public, documented answers before the state finalizes any agreement with federal authorities.

The Urban Affairs Committee left the hearing without the administration present to answer key operational, legal and financial questions. Senators said next steps would include written requests for information, a potential public referral to Judiciary, and pursuing executive‑board authority if agencies continue to decline public briefings.