LINCOLN — Two Nebraska lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget-setting committee requested that their panel schedule a public briefing to better understand the planned conversion of a McCook-based state prison into an ICE detention hub.

State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh and Ashlei Spivey, both of Omaha, addressed their letter Wednesday to State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

The request comes after the chair of the Judiciary Committee declined to hold a public briefing on the McCook project. The Urban Affairs Committee did hold a public hearing, but Gov. Jim Pillen’s staff declined to attend.

Public Records Denied, Redacted

Cavanaugh and Spivey said Pillen’s decision to repurpose the McCook Work Ethic Camp into a facility that holds migran

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