AG's Office: All inmates moved from Nebraska's McCook prison, planned ICE detention center
Source: Nebraska Examiner
State attorney says state has entered contracts in anticipation of state-federal transition, in addition to $750,000 contract with fencing company
By: Zach Wendling - October 16, 2025 7:07 pm
McCOOK, Neb. — Nebraska officials have moved out all inmates from a Nebraska state prison Gov. Jim Pillen plans to convert into an immigration detention center by the end of this month.
Jennifer Huxoll, chief of the Civil Litigation Bureau in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, shared that detail Thursday regarding the Work Ethic Camp in McCook. She was responding to a new lawsuit from McCook residents and a former state lawmaker seeking to stop the Nebraska-federal repurposing plan.
There were 186 inmates at the facility as of Aug. 19, when officials announced the transition plan. Pillen estimated that it would take into mid-October to repurpose the prison. He extended that timeline this week to Nov. 1.
Huxoll told Red Willow County District Judge Patrick Heng that there are multiple contracts the state has in place and other parties not yet in the courtroom, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a Lincoln-based company building a fence around the grounds.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, left, and Gov. Jim Pillen. July 16, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Read more: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/16/ags-office-all-inmates-moved-from-nebraskas-mccook-prison-planned-ice-detention-center/
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