BILL SEEKS TO VOID NEBRASKA-ICE PARTNERSHIP AT FORMER STATE PRISON IN MCCOOK

LINCOLN — A legislative bill introduced Monday seeks to void a Nebraska-federal deal that last fall converted a rehabilitative-focused state prison to an ICE detention facility in McCook. Legislative Bill 963, from State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, seeks to void any state-federal immigration agreements without legislative approval. That would include the most high-profile case in which Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services agreed to lease the state’s “Work Ethic Camp” to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

McKinney’s bill also seeks to narrow state law and say the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services can house offenders under only state laws, not any “law.” A Red Willow County District Court judge cited that section of law as a reason to not halt the Nebraska-ICE partnership. “The executive branch does not have that autonomy and should not have signed our state up to have an ICE detention facility,” McKinney said.

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