State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha seeks action from legislative leaders
By Cindy Gonzalez | Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker two times was denied entry to the controversial state-run federal immigration detention facility that federal officials dubbed the “Cornhusker Clink” — and now is calling on the Legislature’s Executive Board to step in.
State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha said Monday that she made the four-hour trip to McCook in mid-November to check out the conditions of the place where migrant detainees of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are held pending deportation.
She argues that the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services violated state law by not allowing her into the converted Work Ethic Camp, and cites a state statute that says Nebraska legislators are entitled to visit any state correctional facility “at any time.”
When Gov. Jim Pillen and Corrections Director Rob Jeffreys announced the agreement with the federal government, Cavanaugh said, they stated that the department would manage the property and it would continue to be considered a state facility.
“The denial of physical entry to a sitting senator is not only unprecedented — it is the latest escalation in a broader pattern of obstruction that undermines the Legislature’s statutory and constitutional oversight obligations,” Cavanaugh said.
The Omaha senator said she routinely conducts unannounced visits to state-run 24-hour facilities “because direct oversight is not optional — it is a core responsibility of my job.”
She said she specifically wanted to visit the McCook ICE detention center, because it involved “people being held in Nebraska without criminal charges and, in many cases, without clear legal recourse.” The immigration court and deportation process is separate from state courts, and immigrants held by ICE often face civil versus criminal charges.
“When the state deprives someone of their liberty, the conditions of that confinement must be subject to full public and legislative scrutiny,” she told the Nebraska Examiner. “There is no scrutiny. There is no carve-out in Nebraska law for secrecy just because ICE is involved.”
Neither the Corrections Department nor the Governor’s Office had immediate comment.
Cavanaugh documented her efforts to gain entry to the former WEC in a letter to State Sen. Ben Hansen, chair of the Legislature’s Executive Board, and Sen. Myron Dorn, chair of the Legislative Oversight Committee.
She also chronicled five prior legislative attempts to obtain information about the project, describing a pattern of “limited transparency and restricted information.”
Email between Cavanaugh and Jeffreys and a person she described as a warden at the McCook facility offers details of the rejected visits on Nov. 12-13.
According to the email exchange:
Cavanaugh arrived at the facility around 4:20 p.m. Nov. 12, and apparently spoke to Jeffreys via the warden’s cell phone around 4:30 p.m., who told her she had failed to provide notice of her visit.
Said Jeffreys: “You were instructed that no person could arrive unannounced and be given immediate entry to a Nebraska correctional facility or a federal detention center.”
Cavanaugh, in an email around 10 p.m. that night of Nov. 12, emailed the warden and Jeffreys that she would be returning to the facility the next morning.
“Though statute 83-186 (attached) does not require me to provide notice, I am giving you this notice per my conversation with Director Jeffreys on Warden Sommer’s cell phone at approximately 4:30 p.m. today, when Director Jeffreys informed me that I had failed to provide notice of my visit.”
Jeffreys later wrote to Cavanaugh to “clarify the legal position” of the department as to why she was not allowed to enter.
“It is the fundamental nature of corrections, safety protocols and operations, and consistent with Nebraska law, that unannounced visitors of any type cannot be accommodated.”
He said her communication alerting them that she’d be there again Nov. 13 was “short notice” and “again a problem.”
Of Cavanaugh’s legal justification for her visit, Jeffreys said in email that his team “worked to analyze your request, get legal advice and collaborate with our federal partners.”
“We have come to the determination that you will not be allowed to enter the WEC until you have complied with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protocols related to detention center visits and provided sufficient notice to allow for the safe conduct of a visit.”
He also said that statute 83-186 “does not displace protocols for the security and safety of corrections facilities.” He said his team read that statute “in harmony with the statutory scheme of which it is a part.”
Cavanaugh, in the letter to Hansen and Dorn, said she reviewed the state’s contract with ICE and believes it provides that any “provision of this agreement contrary to applicable statutes … is null and void and shall not necessarily affect the balance of the agreement.”
“This means that the right of access provided in 83-186 invalidates any interpretation that members of the Legislature may be prohibited from accessing the facility.”
Cavanaugh said the documented history demonstrates that legislative leaders “have repeatedly sought access to accurate, timely information” on the project and its implications.
She said the Executive Board oversees all legislative services and employees and hears matters of “general import to the Legislature and its operations as a whole.” She said Jeffreys actions were a “direct disregard” of the Legislature and its constitutional authority.
“I urge you … to act to defend the authority of the legislative branch. Such action is necessary to ensure we can effectively represent our constituents and the people of Nebraska.”