The Department of Homeland Security announced Aug. 19 that it will use a minimum-security prison in southwest Nebraska as an immigration detention facility.
Nebraska's Work Ethic Camp – located in McCook, more than 200 miles west of Lincoln – will make up to 280 beds available to house "criminal illegal aliens" arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the department said in a news release. The Work Ethic Camp currently provides educational and vocational training for inmates.
"COMING SOON to Nebraska: Cornhusker Clink," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the news release and a post on X. “Thanks to Governor (Jim) Pillen for his partnership to help remove the worst of the worst out of our country."
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Gov. Jim Pillen said Nebraska would step up its support of President Donald Trump's "immigration enforcement initiatives."
“I am pleased that our facility and team in McCook can be tasked with helping our federal partners protect our homeland by housing criminal illegal aliens roaming our country’s communities today," Pillen said in the news release.
The people who are housed in the facility will be "minimal to low risk," and most will only be there for up to a few weeks, Pillen said Aug. 19 while speaking to reporters in McCook, according to a YouTube video posted by NTV News.
The Nebraska State Patrol has also agreed to empower its troopers to work with ICE agents, and the Nebraska National Guard will provide "administrative and logistical support to Nebraska-based ICE officials," the news release says.
Nebraska lawmakers, organizations respond to 'Cornhusker Clink' announcement
The announcement prompted criticism from some Nebraska lawmakers and statewide organizations.
State Sen. Terrell McKinney, who represents North Omaha, said in a Facebook post that he opposes the decision to establish an immigration detention facility in Nebraska, saying its the "wrong priority for our state."
"Our prisons are already poorly managed, overcrowded and plagued by substandard living conditions," McKinney said. "No one should be subjected to such inhumane treatment."
Similarly, State Sen. Megan Hunt, who represents part of Omaha, wrote on social media that in early August she requested records of communication between state officials and federal immigration authorities about plans to open such a facility in Nebraska.
"I am still working to uncover that information so that the people can have transparency about what’s happening in their name and with their money," she said. "We have seen what ICE has done and is willing to do in this country, and it is more imperative than ever that we protect our neighbors, frustrate ICE’s efforts whenever possible and refuse to cooperate."
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She encouraged Nebraska residents to become involved with immigrant rights organizations and took issue with the use of the term "Cornhusker" to refer to the facility, saying the University of Nebraska should denounce the use of the name.
Nebraska Appleseed, an organization that says it fights for "justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans," criticized the announcement in a statement.
“This is not who we are," the organization's statement says. "Nebraska is a state that welcomes our neighbors and values the contributions of local moms, dads, coworkers, neighbors, and friends. Nebraskans do not want us to be known as a state that separates families and locks up and detains members of our communities."
The organization said it would continue to advocate for "positive immigration laws that fix our long-outdated immigration system and support local communities."
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What we know about immigration detention facility planned for Nebraska
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