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 migrant detainees for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement “implicates not only significant state resources but also the long-term financial obligations of Nebraska taxpayers.”

They said state lawmakers and the public have received little information on the conversion, which requires the relocation of more than 180 state inmates elsewhere in an already crowded state prison system. The letter noted that public records requested under state statutes have been denied or redacted.

“It is the clear duty of the Appropriations Committee to ensure that such a project is transparently handled,” Cavanaugh and Spivey wrote. They wrote that  a public briefing was warranted before committing further public dollars.

Clements told the Nebraska Examiner, however, that he has no plans to grant the request for a public briefing.

“The budget is already set,” Clements said. “We have a two-year budget. Next January we will start mid biennium budget hearings. There’ll be an opportunity then to discuss this with the executive branch.”

Clements said the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services is expected to operate within its budget and that he has been told the federal government will reimburse Nebraska for the costs of detaining people for immigration-related offenses, and that reimbursement rates could exceed daily costs.

He previously has said he supports President Donald Trump “enforcing the law” and that he was pleased that residents of McCook would not be exposed to a higher level of security than before.

Clements told the Examiner Wednesday that questions regarding inmates are within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee.

Fiscal Responsibility

Spivey and Cavanaugh said they are seeking information related to fiscal responsibility and legislative oversight. They requested that the public briefing include officials from the Departments of Administrative Services, Health and Human Services and Correctional Services.

Among data they seek: a comprehensive estimate of state costs for the conversion, operations and healthcare; daily reimbursement fees to be paid by the feds and how that income will be accounted for in the state budget.

Other questions included status of contracts with the federal government; legal authority under which the state may repurpose a prison for federal use; staffing plans and demands and key milestones for conversion and operation, including when expenses will be tracked within existing appropriations.

The two lawmakers said many questions remain unanswered “despite repeated requests.”

“The Nebraska Legislature has a constitutional obligation to guard the state’s fiscal integrity and ensure public resources are managed responsibly,” the letter said.

They wrote that a public briefing by the Appropriations Committee would “provide clarity on the financial impact of this project and allow the Legislature to exercise informed oversight before any further commitments are made.”

Disappointed

Spivey told the Examiner Wednesday that she had not heard back yet from Clements, but that she was disappointed to learn he rejected a request by two of his committee members to better understand financial obligations of the state.

“It is our duty,” Spivey said, adding that Clements does not have to agree with her and Cavanaugh, but should allow for discussion.

She said there is a reason for having different government branches, to check and balance each other for the common good.

“What we’re seeing now is the dismantling of that, of the state Legislature and our power,” Spivey said.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/01/two-appropriations-committee-law...