State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, chair of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, speaks at a news conference on Legislative Bill 530, which included some juvenile justice reforms that allowed the detainment of younger offenders. Behind her, from left is Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and State Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse. Aug. 25, 2025. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — The chair of the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee said Thursday it is “premature” to hold a legislative hearing into Gov. Jim Pillen’s plan to convert a state prison into an immigration detention facility.
State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln advised 13 progressive lawmakers who had requested that she schedule a public hearing to instead direct questions to the executive branch and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. Bosn said questions would be “most efficiently and effectively” be answered this way and be answered faster than what is needed to schedule a public hearing.
“Up to this point, the executive branch has been responsive to questions from the Legislature, and a public hearing is premature,” Bosn, a former prosecutor, wrote in a Thursday response letter.
Meanwhile, Nebraska Appleseed on Thursday delivered a petition to Gov. Jim Pillen’s office from more than 18,000 people in 386 Nebraska communities urging him to halt plans for the migrant detention center. The signatures were collected within the past week.
Pillen, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and other state officials on Aug. 19 announced that Nebraska would convert the state’s Work Ethic Camp in McCook from an approximate 200-bed facility aimed at helping prisoners prepare for life after incarceration into a nearly 300-bed detention center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. State and federal officials have rebranded it as the “Cornhusker Clink.”
Director Rob Jeffreys of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has said he wants the repurposed facility to be a “Midwest hub” for immigration enforcement. Pillen said earlier this week that the repurposed facility should be operational within the next 45 days.
Legislative oversight
Back-and-forth legislative jockeying began Wednesday when State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, a progressive registered nonpartisan, and 12 Democratic lawmakers sent a list of questions to Bosn that the group said needed to be answered. In their letter, the senators suggested the answers should come in a public forum.
Other lawmakers signing the letter were State Sens. John Cavanaugh, Machaela Cavanaugh, Danielle Conrad, George Dungan, John Fredrickson, Dunixi Guereca, Margo Juarez, Terrell McKinney, Dan Quick, Jane Raybould, Victor Rountree and Ashlei Spivey.
Lawmakers’ questions include the legality of Pillen entering a federal agreement to convert a state-run, legislatively defined prison into an ICE facility and the legality of Jeffreys’ department housing ICE detainees.
The Nebraska Constitution’s Article IV, Section 19, has since 1875 given the Legislature exclusive authority in the “general management, control and government of all state charitable, mental, reformatory and penal institutions.”
The Legislature this spring completed a nearly two-year effort to clarify and strengthen its legislative oversight of executive branch agencies, including the Nebraska prison system.
“The governor’s disregard for including the Legislature — the people’s branch — is deeply problematic,” the senators wrote Wednesday. “Nebraskans deserve answers.”
The Governor’s Office and Correctional Services Department have not yet addressed critics’ questions over state law and the Nebraska Constitution. Pillen has said he is stepping up to answer Trump’s call for governors and states to do their part to enforce federal immigration laws.
‘We aren’t going away’
Lawmakers will return for the 2026 legislative session in early January, when senators will likely introduce legislation dealing with the Work Ethic Camp. In Nebraska, all legislative proposals get a public hearing in the one-house, officially nonpartisan Legislature.
Among comments by petition signers:
“I say NO to opening a cruel and harmful ICE detainment camp anywhere in our state. This is inhumane.” — Lexington resident.
“Nebraskans do not want this. Not in our state, not anywhere. Do your job!” — Norfolk resident.
“NO using any prison in Nebraska to undermine our neighbors and friends. And absolutely…NO CORNHUSKER CLINK!!! That degrades every one of us!” — Tecumseh resident.
“As a McCook resident, I do not like seeing where Nebraska is headed with the new addition to WEC. This is not McCook. This is not Nebraska.” — McCook resident.
Darcy Tromanhauser, Appleseed’s immigrants and communities program director, said U.S. immigration laws have not been meaningfully updated in nearly 40 years. She said that has left families and neighbors targets while they try to navigate “outdated” immigration laws.
“Nebraskans want positive and updated immigration laws that support strong Nebraska communities, families, workforce needs, and our future — not punishment and military deployments,” Tromanhauser said.
Hunt said Bosn’s decision not to host a public hearing was “disappointing but not surprising.” Hunt said lawmakers would “press for answers through every avenue,” even if Bosn and her committee refuse.
“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,” Hunt said in a Thursday text. “We aren’t going away, and we won’t stop asking the questions the governor and his allies would rather ignore.”
Editor’s note: Nebraska Examiner senior reporter Cindy Gonzalez contributed to this report.
What is the Work Ethic Camp?
The Work Ethic Camp in McCook, legislatively approved in April 1997, opened in April 2001 as a method to reduce prison crowding, primarily with rehabilitative programming to low-risk offenders. As a result, the facility hoped to open up space for more violent offenders in other state facilities.
The Work Ethic Camp has most recently served adult men convicted of felonies who need substance use treatment or cognitive restructuring. It had an annual state budget of $9.5 million last year and about 85 staff. As of Aug. 19, the facility housed 186 Nebraskans in dormitory-style housing.
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