The Work Ethic Camp in McCook, Neb. Oct. 24, 2025. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — A district court judge in southwest Nebraska will let the state move forward with Gov. Jim Pillen’s plans to convert a state prison into a detention center for migrants facing deportation proceedings.

Red Willow County District Judge Patrick Heng, in a 17-page ruling Monday, ruled that Pillen and Rob Jeffreys, director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, did not violate the Nebraska Constitution or state law by entering into a Sept. 30 contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to convert the state’s Work Ethic Camp in McCook into a regional ICE detention center.

ICE certified the facility last week, Pillen announced Thursday. State and federal officials have sai

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