Former state senator sues over planned Nebraska ICE facility

OMAHA, Neb. (CN) — The Nebraska governor’s plan for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on state property violates the state’s constitution, a retired state legislator and several residents of the county where the facility will be located claim in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln, a former state senator, and 13 other plaintiffs who live in Red Willow County say Governor Jim Pillen’s plan to turn the Work Ethic Camp just north of McCook, Nebraska, into a facility for non-citizens awaiting immigration proceedings violates the Nebraska Constitution.

The constitution says penal institutions are the responsibility of the Nebraska Legislature. Thus, the plaintiffs say, Pillen’s plan runs afoul of the separation-of-powers doctrine.

Also, the Work Ethic Camp is a minimum-custody correctional facility. Immigration is a civil issue and handled by the federal government, but the facility will continue to be state owned. Using funds to repurpose the site requires an appropriation by the Legislature, the plaintiffs claim.

But Red Willow District Court Judge Patrick Heng denied an initial request for a temporary restraining order on Wednesday night, a decision praised by Pillen.

“Governor Pillen greatly appreciates the court’s prompt and well-reasoned dismissal of the plaintiff’s temporary restraining order, said Laura Strimple, Pillen’s communications director, in an emailed statement on Thursday. “We expect and believe that the lawsuit is legally and substantively without merit, and we are confident that it will receive the scrutiny it deserves in our court system.”

Pillen and Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Rob Jeffreys are named as defendants.

U.S Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the plan to use the facility for immigration detention purposes in August, referring to the detention center as the “Cornhusker Clink.”

The facility has proved controversial, even in a state that outside urban areas is deeply conservative. Mindy Rush Chipman, executive director of ACLU Nebraska, called it the “heartland horror” in comments to local media.

The governor has said the repurposed property will be up and running Nov. 1. Pillen has said the facility will be located near a regional airport and that he would order Nebraska National Guard to provide administrative and logistical support, with at least 20 soldiers involved, according to the Associated Press.

Pillen has said those already incarcerated at the Work Ethic Camp would be moved to other facilities commensurate with their custody level. Plaintiffs say defendants have already started moving people out.

The lawsuit comes as local media in Nebraska is reporting that Pillen’s office has denied at least nine public records requestsrelated to the planned facility.

In their complaint, plaintiffs highlight that the state has contracted a company to install a 12-foot razor-wire-topped fence at the center and is using money for other modifications. They demand that the “unlawful expenditure off public funds to repurpose” the camp cease immediately.

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