OMAHA, Neb. (CN) - A Nebraska judge tossed a former state senator's attempt to stop a rural corrections facility from being used as an immigration detention center for the Trump administration's deportation efforts.
In Friday decision dismissing the case with prejudice, Red Willow County Judge Patrick M. Heng said Governor Jim Pillen had the authority to enter contracts with the federal government, and allowed Corrections Director Rob Jeffreys to move those incarcerated at the Work Ethic Camp near McCook, Nebraska, to another institution so it could house Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
"The court finds that the director has the authority to exercise all powers and perform all duties necessary and proper in carrying out his or her responsibilities with regard to the work camp and inmates," Heng wrote. "This would necessarily include moving these inmates to another facility even if it left the McCook facilities solely to house ICE detainees."
Former state Senator DiAnna Schimek and 13 McCook-area residents sued in October, arguing the Department of Homeland Security 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 Ethic Camp is a minimum-custody correctional facility owned by the state, while immigration detention is a federal civil matter. Repurposing the site, they contended, required legislative approval and funding.
Heng previously ruled the transformation of the Work Ethic Camp could continue as planned, refusing a temporary injunction to stop it, finding no separation of powers violation. But he still found the plaintiffs had standing and allowed the case to continue.
However, Heng agreed Friday with Pillen and Jeffereys' argument for dismissal that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted because their plans were allowed under state law. The defendants argued that Nebraska laws "entrust the department with administering its facilities to serve persons committed to the department, including persons committed to the department through lawful agreement with the federal government."
"The court does not read the work camp statutes as restrictive as suggested by the plaintiffs regarding the director's obligations under 83-4,142 and other applicable statutes," Heng wrote.
"This is a huge victory and the right decision. I appreciate the considered and well-reasoned opinion by the presiding judge to affirm the state's authority to use 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 it will continue."
Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in August the plan to use the Work Ethic Camp for one of the president's colorfully named immigration detention centers, dubbing the Nebraska facility the "Cornhusker Clink."
The move proved controversial, even in a state that is deeply conservative outside of its urban areas. Mindy Rush Chipman, executive director of ACLU Nebraska, called it the "heartland horror" in comments to local media.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, counsel for the plaintiffs said they were reviewing options as to how to proceed.
"We are disappointed with the court's decision and are reviewing today's opinion. We will confer with our clients and anticipate an appeal in this matter," Nick Grandgenett, senior attorney for immigrants and communities with Nebraska Appleseed, said.
Immigration detainees started arriving at the former Work Ethic Camp in late 2025. A state senator who toured 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 at least seven people swept up in "Operation Metro Surge" in the Minneapolis area were at the McCook facility, in addition to about 20 others held in Nebraska county jails, hours away from their Minnesota homes.
The Work Ethic Camp was a minimum custody facility featuring rehabilitative programs for those sent there. Most have been sent elsewhere in Nebraska's prison system, among the most crowded in the United States.
In his statement, Pillen said the site of the former Work Ethic Camp was being modified to allow for up to 300 people, and the state was working with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to ensure immigration detainees were "housed appropriately and securely."
Source: Courthouse News Service
