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The state minimum-security prison known as Work Ethic Camp in McCook (Nebraska) will be replaced by a high-security detention center of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with 300 spaces, a conversion decided by state authorities as part of the capacity expansion tied to President Donald Trump’s national campaign against illegal immigration.
According to a report published by The New York Times, the Work Ethic Camp was the only state prison in Nebraska dedicated exclusively to rehabilitation, focused on non-violent offenders nearing the end of their sentences, providing counseling, education, and job training to ease their return to the community.
That changed this fall when the state announced its replacement with the new ICE center, which has a different mission and a new name: “The Cornhusker Clink.”
Before the reconversion, it was common to see inmates engaged in community work (paving, maintenance of cemeteries, removal of Christmas lights, mowing grass at school facilities), in addition to attending classes at a community university; even works by 13 inmates were showcased in an art gallery during the summer, according to the text.
The state has spent nearly two million dollars on the renovation of the facility, adding barbed wire on the fences and sensors to detect leaks, according to the report.
Regarding the economic agreement, it is stated that Governor Jim Pillen maintained that the arrangement will generate around 14 million dollars annually after covering operational costs.
Additionally, the text indicates that the contract stipulates that ICE will pay Nebraska a one-time fee of 5.9 million dollars for renovations and monthly payments of 2.5 million over a two-year contractual period.
Reactions in McCook: support, doubts, and fear of local impact
Some residents of McCook expressed support for the new facility, believing it contributes to the federal agenda and could create between 50 and 60 jobs.
Others, although they support Trump's stance on immigration, said they prefer the previous model due to its community ties and rehabilitative approach.
Local officials also expressed concern about the potential logistical impact if hundreds of detainees are transferred through the city's small airport, which —according to the text— has only one full-time employee.
Thirteen residents and a former state legislator sued the governor, arguing that the Legislature had designated and funded the facilities for the purpose of rehabilitating state inmates and that Pillen did not have the authority to change that purpose. In October, a judge denied a request for a injunction made by the plaintiffs.
The text adds that officials from McCook stated they were not informed in advance about the state's decision and that they were also not told if the city would receive revenue from the agreement with ICE.
Expansion of detention capacity
According to the information, the Trump administration, aiming to fulfill its campaign promise of deporting a million people per year, sought to expand detention capacity and took the unusual measure of seeking space in state prisons, with agreements in Indiana, Louisiana, Florida, and Nebraska, states with Republican governors willing to cooperate.
In this case, the facility began to house detainees in early November and, up to the noted point in time, had accommodated an average of about 28 men per day.
In the final months of the Work Ethic Camp, around 186 men were housed there. Following its closure, nearly 100 were transferred to even less restrictive centers with the possibility of leaving daily for work; 10 were released (some on probation or under supervision), and 76 were sent to more secure facilities, most of them to the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln.
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