Senator Megan Hunt Raises Constitutional and Transparency Concerns Over ICE Contract for Nebraska Prison

October 17, 2025

OMAHA, Neb. — State Senator Megan Hunt today raised serious constitutional, fiscal, and transparency concerns regarding Governor Jim Pillen's agreement to convert Nebraska's Work Ethic Camp (WEC) in McCook into a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility.

"The Governor cannot unilaterally hand over a state prison to the federal government," said Hunt. "The Nebraska Constitution gives the Legislature, not the Governor, authority over the management of our penal institutions. This deal bypasses the legislative process entirely, undermining the separation of powers and eroding public trust."

The contract between the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) and

ICE was executed without legislative approval, public input, or formal appropriation. Hunt and 12 of her colleagues previously requested that the Judiciary Committee hold a public hearing on the agreement, but the committee chair declined. In response, Senator Terrell McKinney, the Chair of the Urban Affairs Committee, convened a public hearing on September 30 to ensure Nebraskans had a forum to ask questions and receive answers from the Executive Branch, although they were not forthcoming. Now that the contract with ICE has been released, new questions have arisen.

Beyond constitutional issues, Hunt cited several areas of concern within the contract:

• Transparency: The agreement prohibits videotaping, photography, or recording inside the facility, even by oversight officials. "In a publicly funded, state-owned facility, a blanket ban on documentation is unacceptable," Hunt said. "The public has a right to know what happens inside a facility operating in their name."

• Legislative Oversight: The contract restricts access to "members of the public," a term that Hunt warns could be used to exclude state senators performing oversight duties. "Senators are not members of the public when conducting official business," she said. "Blocking elected officials from state institutions would be a direct violation of legislative authority and separation of powers."

• Statutory Authority: Under Nebraska law, NDCS is authorized to house and rehabilitate individuals convicted under state law, not to detain individuals under federal civil immigration proceedings. "NDCS is acting outside its statutory authority," Hunt said. "This could expose Nebraska taxpayers to legal liability for actions taken at the direction of ICE."

• Fiscal Accountability: There is no clear legislative appropriation for the use of state staff, resources, and facilities under this agreement. "This is a misuse of public funds and a violation of the Legislature's exclusive power of appropriation," Hunt added.

Hunt emphasized that this issue is about more than one facility. It's about maintaining the

rule of law in Nebraska's government.

Despite multiple public records requests submitted under Nebraska's open records law and the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Governor's Office and the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services have refused to release any correspondence between the State of Nebraska and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, or other federal offices related to this facility transfer. The executive branch's failure to produce or even acknowledge these records compounds the lack of transparency surrounding this agreement. Nebraskans deserve to know how this deal was made, who was consulted, and under what legal authority state officials acted. The refusal to disclose this information is an unacceptable breach of the public's right to know.

"This isn't about immigration policy," she said. "It's about whether Nebraska remains a state where laws are followed, power is balanced, and government is accountable to the people.

The Governor has crossed a constitutional line, and Nebraskans deserve transparency, not secrecy."