The state of Nebraska has become the latest flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement, as Governor Jim Pillen’s plan to convert the Work Ethic Camp in McCook into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility faces mounting opposition from lawmakers, advocates, and residents across the state. The controversy comes amid sweeping changes at the federal level, where the Trump administration has relaxed requirements for hiring temporary immigration judges, fueling concerns about due process and political bias in the immigration system.
On August 28, 2025, State Senator Carolyn Bosn, chair of the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, declared it “premature” to hold a legislative hearing on the governor’s proposal. In a letter to thirteen progressive lawmakers who had called for a public forum, Bosn advised them to direct their questions to the executive branch and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, suggesting this approach would yield faster and more efficient answers. “Up to this point, the executive branch has been responsive to questions from the Legislature, and a public hearing is premature,” Bosn wrote, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
Just days earlier, on August 19, Governor Pillen, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and other officials announced that the approximately 200-bed Work Ethic Camp would be transformed into a nearly 300-bed ICE detention center, now dubbed the “Cornhusker Clink.” The repurposed facility is intended to serve as a “Midwest hub” for immigration enforcement, with operational readiness expected within 45 days, according to Rob Jeffreys, Director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.
The plan’s rollout has been met with a groundswell of resistance. On Thursday, Nebraska Appleseed, an advocacy group, delivered a petition to Governor Pillen’s office bearing more than 18,000 signatures from 386 Nebraska communities, all collected within a single week. The petition urges the governor to halt the project and voices deep concern about the impact on local families and communities. Among the comments from signers: “I say NO to opening a cruel and harmful ICE detainment camp anywhere in our state. This is inhumane,” wrote a resident of Lexington. Another, from Norfolk, implored, “Nebraskans do not want this. Not in our state, not anywhere. Do your job!”
The Work Ethic Camp itself has a distinct history. Opened in April 2001 after legislative approval in 1997, it was designed to reduce prison crowding by providing rehabilitative programming to low-risk offenders—primarily adult men convicted of felonies who needed substance use treatment or cognitive restructuring. In its most recent fiscal year, the facility operated on a $9.5 million state budget and employed about 85 staff. As of August 19, it housed 186 Nebraskans in dormitory-style accommodations.
The lawmakers seeking a public hearing—led by State Senator Megan Hunt of Omaha and joined by twelve other Democratic and progressive senators—have raised pointed questions about the legality of converting a state-run, legislatively defined prison into an ICE facility. They cite Article IV, Section 19 of the Nebraska Constitution, which since 1875 has given the Legislature exclusive authority over the management and control of state penal institutions. The senators argue that Governor Pillen’s decision bypasses this constitutional mandate and undermines the Legislature’s oversight powers, which were only strengthened earlier this year after a nearly two-year legislative effort.
“The governor’s disregard for including the Legislature—the people’s branch—is deeply problematic,” the senators wrote in their letter. “Nebraskans deserve answers.” So far, the Governor’s Office and the Department of Correctional Services have yet to address these questions directly. Pillen, for his part, has positioned his actions as a response to former President Donald Trump’s call for governors and states to take a more active role in enforcing federal immigration laws.
Darcy Tromanhauser, immigrants and communities program director at Nebraska Appleseed, emphasized the broader context in which these changes are unfolding. “Nebraskans want positive and updated immigration laws that support strong Nebraska communities, families, workforce needs, and our future—not punishment and military deployments,” she said. Tromanhauser noted that U.S. immigration laws have not been meaningfully updated in nearly 40 years, leaving families and communities vulnerable and forced to navigate an “outdated” system.
State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, the sole Democrat on the new Legislative Oversight Committee, went further, likening the proposed facility to an “internment camp” reminiscent of the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II, “without any due process whatsoever.” Both Hunt and Cavanaugh described Bosn’s refusal to hold a public hearing as “disappointing but not surprising.” Hunt vowed to “press for answers through every avenue,” insisting, “The Legislature has a duty of oversight, and Nebraskans have a right to know what’s being done in their name and with their money. We aren’t going away, and we won’t stop asking the questions the governor and his allies would rather ignore.”
While Nebraska grapples with the local implications of federal immigration enforcement, sweeping changes at the national level are reshaping the entire system. On August 28, 2025, the Trump administration implemented a new rule allowing the Justice Department to hire attorneys without any immigration law experience to serve as temporary immigration judges. Previously, temporary judges were required to have been immigration judges or other government attorneys with at least ten years’ experience in immigration law. The administration argues that the rule is necessary to address a staggering backlog of some 3.7 million pending immigration cases.
“This rule will enable the Director, with the approval of the Attorney General, to staff the immigration courts with a sufficient number of well-trained and highly qualified judges to further reduce and ultimately eliminate the backlog of pending cases,” the rule states, as reported in the Federal Register. However, critics contend the move is part of a broader effort to install judges who will support Trump’s mass deportation agenda and to erode due process protections for immigrants. Elizabeth Taufa, senior policy attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, warned, “Due process in immigration court is dubious on a regular day, and this is not a regular day. So I think we are going to see a continued erosion of due process. I think we are going to see more folks with specific political bias that are hired in this role.”
The administration has also adopted strategies to expedite deportations, such as dismissing cases so that immigrants can be arrested immediately after leaving the courtroom, and has approved plans to allow National Guard Judge Advocate General Corps members to serve as immigration judges at new detention centers, including one in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Back in Nebraska, the fight is far from over. Lawmakers plan to introduce legislation addressing the Work Ethic Camp’s future when the Legislature reconvenes in early January 2026. In the meantime, Nebraskans on all sides of the debate are watching closely, determined to ensure their voices are heard as the state’s role in federal immigration enforcement takes center stage.
