McCook Detention is for US Immigration & Customs Enforcement-ICE offenders have not been sentenced yet and are detained here until their case is heard.
All prisons and jails have Security or Custody levels depending on the inmate’s classification, sentence, and criminal history. Please review the rules and regulations for Medium facility.
If you are unsure of your inmate's location, you can search and locate your inmate by typing in their last name, first name or first initial, and/or the offender ID number to get their accurate information immediately Registered Offenders
The McCook Detention Center (ICE) is a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility located at 2306 US-83 in McCook, NE in Red Willow County. This medium-security facility is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and functions as a holding center for immigration detainees awaiting trial, deportation, or serving sentences following conviction.
To find an ICE inmate, please use the Detainee Locator System with the A-Number search being the most efficient method. The A-number must be exactly nine digits; if shorter, zeros should be added at the beginning. When searching by name, the first and last names must be entered as an exact match, and the detainee's correct country of birth must be selected. Please note that records of individuals under 18 cannot be searched.
Detainees at this facility are assigned to housing based on their custody level, determined by various factors including sentence length and criminal history. The detention center provides a wide range of educational and vocational training programs. Additionally, the facility is equipped to meet most detainee needs, including dietary, health, fitness, education, religious practices, and entertainment. As a privately operated facility, it undergoes frequent inspections to ensure it remains in top condition, maintaining a clean record to secure ongoing government contracts.
The McCook Detention Center in McCook, Nebraska, is a newly converted federal immigration detention facility that houses ICE detainees under contract with the Department of Homeland Security. The facility was formerly known as the McCook Work Ethic Camp, a minimum-security Nebraska state correctional institution focused on inmate rehabilitation and work-release programming before being repurposed into an immigration detention center during the major federal detention expansion initiatives of 2025. The center is now operated by the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services in partnership with DHS and ICE rather than by a county sheriff’s office, making it different from most local immigration detention contracts. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and DHS officials publicly branded the facility with the controversial nickname “Cornhusker Clink,” following similar politically themed detention facility nicknames such as Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” and Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer.”
The facility initially opened with a detention capacity of approximately 200 ICE detainees, with rapid expansion plans approved shortly afterward to increase capacity to roughly 280 to 300 detainees as federal immigration enforcement operations intensified nationwide. State officials confirmed the first detainees arrived during November 2025 after extensive renovations transformed the former work camp into a secured immigration detention facility. Upgrades included new razor-wire perimeter fencing, enhanced security systems, retrofitted housing units, and expanded detention infrastructure designed specifically for federal immigration custody operations. Federal contracts tied to the detention center are projected to generate tens of millions of dollars annually for the State of Nebraska, dramatically exceeding the former operating revenue associated with the original work camp program.
ICE Detainee Information
This facility holds immigration detainees under an active contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in addition to its regular population. ICE detainees are civil immigration detainees, not criminal defendants, and are held while their immigration cases are processed. The rules, rights, and services that apply to ICE detainees differ from those that apply to the general jail population.
To locate an ICE detainee at this facility, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov. You will need the detainee's A-Number, a nine-digit Alien Registration Number that appears on any immigration document they have received. If the A-Number has fewer than nine digits, add zeros at the beginning. If you do not have the A-Number, you can search using the detainee's full legal name, country of birth, and date of birth. Names must be an exact match; try variations if the first search returns no results.
Immigration bond works differently from criminal bail. Not all detainees are eligible for bond; those with certain criminal convictions or prior deportation orders may be subject to mandatory detention. For those who are eligible, bond is set by an immigration judge and typically ranges from $1,500 to over $10,000. Bond must be paid in full before release. An immigration attorney can request a bond hearing and argue for a lower amount based on the detainee's circumstances.
Unlike criminal defendants, ICE detainees do not have the right to a government-appointed attorney. They must hire a private immigration attorney or find free legal help through a nonprofit organization. RAICES provides legal services and bond assistance at raicestexas.org. The National Immigrant Justice Center offers free legal representation at immigrantjustice.org. Many immigration courts also maintain a list of free and low-cost legal service providers available to detainees upon request.
ICE transfers detainees between facilities frequently and with little advance notice, sometimes to locations far from family and legal counsel. If you cannot locate your family member through this page, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator again at locator.ice.gov with their A-Number. If they have an attorney, notify the attorney immediately as transfers affect court appearances and case timelines.
One of the most distinguishing aspects of the McCook Detention Center is the dramatic transformation from a rehabilitation-focused correctional program into a federally integrated immigration detention hub. Before the conversion, the Work Ethic Camp was known throughout western Nebraska for allowing low-risk inmates to perform labor supporting local nonprofits, fairgrounds, parks, and community projects throughout the McCook area. Former inmates and local residents frequently described the camp as one of Nebraska’s more successful rehabilitative correctional programs because it emphasized accountability, work experience, and reintegration into society. That identity changed almost overnight when the state announced the facility would become an ICE detention center under DHS authority, creating widespread controversy throughout the rural Nebraska community.
Operationally, the McCook Detention Center now functions as a secure federal immigration detention facility designed to house detainees awaiting deportation proceedings, immigration hearings, asylum determinations, or transfer to other ICE detention locations nationwide. The center works closely with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and receives detainees transferred from immigration raids, border operations, and other federal enforcement actions throughout the Midwest. Because McCook is located in remote southwestern Nebraska near Interstate 80 and major regional transportation routes, the facility serves as a strategic detention location for moving detainees between Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, and other surrounding states. The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services continues staffing and managing the center while coordinating directly with DHS detention authorities and federal immigration officials.
The facility has rapidly become one of the most discussed immigration detention centers in the Midwest due to both its political symbolism and the speed of its conversion. Civil rights organizations, immigration advocates, and some Nebraska lawmakers criticized the project, arguing that the state bypassed traditional legislative oversight while repurposing a correctional rehabilitation center into a federal detention facility. Local residents also expressed concern about losing inmate labor programs that had supported community projects throughout the McCook area for more than two decades. Despite those controversies, DHS officials continue promoting the “Cornhusker Clink” as an important component of the federal government’s expanding immigration detention infrastructure. Today, the McCook Detention Center stands as one of the clearest examples of how state correctional systems are increasingly being integrated into federal immigration detention operations across the United States.
