News out of nothing at all

Every now and then, KICX spins an old Air Supply song from the early 1980s, “Making Love out of Nothing at All.” Lately, as coverage of the Work Ethic Camp’s (WEC) conversion to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility drifts by, I catch myself humming a variation: “Making news out of nothing at all.”

Until yesterday, it was fascinating to watch reporters work through a news blackout. With little concrete information, many leaned on statements from advocacy groups with no real ties to McCook or Red Willow County. Others turned their denied FOIA requests into stories. We had a pile of those too, as chronicled on yesterday’s front page. We just didn’t think they were newsworthy enough for headlines.

Between the Aug. 19 announcement and yesterday, actual developments have been scarce. Aside from a Sept. 12 committee hearing, the Governor’s staff skipped and a vague timeline floated this week, the silence has been deafening.

Yesterday added a new wrinkle. A lawsuit was filed in Red Willow County District Court on behalf of former State Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln and thirteen McCook residents, challenging Gov. Jim Pillen’s plan to repurpose the WEC into a large-scale ICE detention center. The defendants in the case are Pillen and Rob Jeffreys, director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

The complaint includes 21 numbered paragraphs outlining the factual background, constitutional claims, statutory arguments and a request for injunctive relief. Statements one through six cover the factual timeline and steps already taken to advance the plan. Statements seven through 13 assert the governor exceeded his authority and violated the separation of powers. Statements 14 through 20 emphasize that repurposing state facilities requires legislative approval, then statement 21 seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to stop the plan before it becomes irreversible.

Based on the complaint, the motivation appears to center on gubernatorial overreach – something that resonates with anyone concerned about McCook’s and Red Willow County’s lack of input. It’s laudable that a group of residents is willing to challenge the Governor’s office and assert a kind of local sovereignty, a sense that our community should have a meaningful say in its own future. For that effort, count me in.

Politics, however, can never be that simple. My friends on the far right will see this as more evidence of Trump Derangement Syndrome – and they may not be entirely wrong. The inclusion of Schimeck and the apparent involvement of Nebraska Appleseed offer a clue. A press release from Appleseed stated plainly: “Yesterday, Nebraska Appleseed filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Red Willow County on behalf of former State Sen. DiAnna Schimek and thirteen residents of McCook.”

Schimek has long ties to Appleseed, having served on its board beginning in 2009 and identifying herself as a sustained supporter. Nebraska Appleseed describes itself as “a nonprofit public interest organization and part of the binational Appleseed Network, which connects justice centers across the U.S. and Mexico to pursue systemic reform through legal advocacy, policy work, and community engagement.” You might want to back up and read that again. The people claiming to be behind the effort are part of an organization that has offices south of the border.

Politics makes for strange bedfellows. It’s entirely possible to be genuinely concerned about local control while also standing alongside a group with a broader political agenda. I remain firmly on the side of those who want to preserve this community’s independence – but we should be clear-eyed about who’s along for the ride.

Make no mistake, we expect detainees to be treated with humanity and dignity. We also expect federal officers to carry out their duties with professionalism, but let’s not kid ourselves: our “local” effort is driven, in part, by partisan forces with loose ties beyond our national borders.

As events unfold, let’s take notice of whether outcomes benefit our local interests, or a national partisan agenda