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2 Lexington powerlifters bring home state champion titles
Lexington's Emmelyn Munoz, left, earns top spot on the podium Saturday at the All-Class State Powerlifting meet Saturday in Omaha.
Lexington's Enrique Cano, left, tops the podium Saturday at the All-Class State Powerlifting Meet at Omaha Central High School.
OMAHA — Two Lexington powerlifters brought home state champion titles from the All-Class State Powerlifting Meet Saturday at Omaha Central High School.
For the Maids, Emmely Munoz was the champion.
Minuteman Enrique Cano was the state champion at 114 pounds.
MAIDS
Yareli Lopez was the state runner-up, Ashley Renteria earned fourth place and Dalia Guzman finished in fifth.
MINUTEMEN
Jefferson Lopez took third place at 123 pounds.
Emerson Lorenzo finished in fifth place at 114 pounds.
The following teams competed at the meet:
Bellevue East, Blair, Brownell Talbot, Columbus, Conestoga, Creighton Prep, Elkhorn, Grand Island, Grand Island Central Catholic, Gretna, Gretna East, Hastings/Adams Central, Johnson-Brock, McCook, Niobrara-Verdigre, North Platte, Omaha Benson, Omaha Buena Vista, Omaha Central, Omaha Gross, Omaha North, Omaha South, Omaha Westside, Papio South, Papio, Seward, Southwest and Wayne.
Lexington will finish the regular season Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Verdigre Powerlifting Meet at 9 a.m. at Verdigre High School.
Around Town
The Around Town section of the Clipper-Herald is to notify the public of upcoming events and to publicize pertinent information from individuals, groups or service organizations.
LEXINGTON HAPPENINGS
Lenten Lunches sponsored by Lexington Ministerial Association with lunch from noon to 12:20 p.m. with service from 12:20 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. on the following dates and churches: Thursday, Feb. 26 at First United Methodist Church; Thursday, March 5 at St. Ann's Catholic Church Parish Center; Thursday, March 12 at Calvary Assembly of God; Thursday, March 19 at First Presbyterian Church; Thursday, March 26 at Grace Lutheran Church.
Dawson County Commissioners meeting Friday, Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. at the courthouse.
Lexington City Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 at the city office building.
Central Community College - Lexington is offering basic construction and safety classes March 13-14, 20-21 and 27, Fridays and Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.$3,280 per person. To sign up, contact: danielgettinger@cccneb.edu or by phone: 308-338-4011. GAP funding is available for recently laid-off or displaced workers.
Lunch and Learn: Immigration, naturalization and civics presented by DAR member Sandy Mittelstaedt at the Lexington Public Library Thursday, Feb. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Meal Planning and Preparation hosted by Nebraska Extension Thursday, Feb. 26 from 1-2:30 p.m. at the Extension office (1002 Plum Creek Parkway). Free to everyone. For questions call 308-324-5501.
Bonneville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will be presenting awards Tuesday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church in Lexington.
Mobile Food Pantry at the Dawson County Fairgrounds Thursday, March 5 at 3 p.m.
GriefShare meets every Thursday through April 30 at 6:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church.
Cropping at the Museum: Rescuing the Past April 10-13 at the Dawson County Historical Museum. All proceeds benefit the museum.
Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District will open its winter eagle viewing at the J-2 Hydroplant south of Lexington until Feb. 22. Open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.
Parkview Baptist Church holds a food pantry every third Saturday of the month at the Refuge Building (1105 Park St.) in Lexington.
The Dawson County History Museum is hosting “Coffee with Carol” the first Wednesday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon.
The Lexington Lions Club meets at 7 p.m. every fourth Monday of the month at the Lexington Grand Generation Center.
Lexington Rotary Club meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at Dawson County Annex Building at noon. For more information or to join call 308-325-7006.
The Dawson County Democrats meet at 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at the Los Jalapeños Restaurant.
American Legion in Lexington meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.
WIC Clinic Sites, Dawson County: Lexington – Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska Building, 931 W. Seventh St., Tuesday through Thursday the first 4 full weeks for each month.
RYDE Transit — Public Transportation is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule a ride in Dawson County or Lexington call 308-324-3670. Public Transportation is easy to ride and open to everyone.
COZAD HAPPENINGS
Cozad Ambassadors presents Business After Hours Friday, Feb. 27 from 5-7 p.m. at the Cozad Elks Club.
Cozad City Wide Clean Up March 2-6. Tags must be picked up for items before 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 at the City Office. Items accepted are appliances such as washers, dryers, dishwashers, stoves, freezers, air conditioners, tires, computer monitors, furniture that is too big for the tan dumpster.
Nebraska Extension Landscape Design Workshop Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Wilson Public Library.
The Cozad Chamber and Cozad Development annual meeting is Thursday, March 19 from 5-9 p.m. at the Cozad Elks Club.
Revitalize and Thrive is hosting a free indoor mini-golf tournament for Cozad middle school and high schoolers Friday, March 20 with middle schoolers starting at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and high schoolers from 8:30-10:30 p.m. at the Cozad High School in "The Barn."
Cozad Community Foundation is accepting items, services or an experience for their upcoming Red Day fundraiser auction. Red Day will be held Saturday, March 21 at 7 p.m. at Cozad Elks Club. Contact Robyn Geiser at 308-325-2450 or by email at ccf@cozadtel.net.
Storytime with Sauce, certified therapy dog, Friday, Feb. 27 at 11 a.m. at the Wilson Public Library.
Dine In/Drive Thru Ham Ball Dinner Fundraiser Sunday, March 8 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Cozad Grand Generation Center.
RESCHEDULED: To Friday, Feb. 27 - Tax Clinics at the Wilson Public Library on Friday March 6 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Landscape Design with Extension Educator Elizabeth Exstrom Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Wilson Public Library.
Armchair Travels: Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. with Mary Jane Skala at the Wilson Public Library.
Drive Thru free grocery Thursday, March 12 from 5-7 p.m. at the Cozad Grand Generation Center.
Bands, Brews and BBQs will be held Saturday, July 11 with the Lemon Fresh Day band headlining the night and opener by Heather Wellman. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. More information on ticket sales will be provided at a later date.
Blood Pressure Clinic at the Cozad Grand Generation Center the third Tuesday of every month at 11 a.m.
The Cozad Grand Generation Center has Home Delivered Meals to the Community Monday — Friday. If you would like to receive Home Delivered Meals or would like to pick up a Curbside Meal at 410 W. Ninth St. from 11:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m., please call us at 308-784-2747 by 9:30 a.m. that morning, so we can arrange everything for your convenience.
The Cozad Grand Generation Center Bus is available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. To schedule a ride in Cozad call 308-784-2747.
MILLER HAPPENINGS
Miller Volunteer Fire Department pancake and sausage feed Sunday, March 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Miller Community Hall.
FARNAM HAPPENINGS
Farnam Community Carnival at the Farnam School Building Saturday, Feb. 28 sponsored by the Farnam Lions Club. Soup supper from 5:30-9:30 p.m. and games from 6:30-10 p.m.
GOTHENBURG HAPPENINGS
Dancing With the Stars ticket sales event, one day only, Thursday, Feb. 26 from 5-8 p.m. at the Sun Theatre.
K-12th grade Art Showcase Sunday, March 1 from 1-3 p.m. at 829 Lake Ave., Gothenburg. Free will donation for the Art Programs.
Father-Daughter Dance Saturday, March 14 from 4-9 p.m. at the YMCA at Gothenburg Health. $60 per couple and $15 for each additional daughter. Must register by March 8.
Women's Pickleball tournament at the Gothenburg YMCA Saturday, March 14 at 9 a.m. for ages 16 and up with a $50 fee per team. Must register by March 13.
Save the Date: Dancing With the Stars Saturday, March 21.
ON THE BIG SCREEN
LEXINGTON
Majestic Theatre, 615 N. Washington St.
Ticket Pricing: Adult $5, Students/Senior Citizens/Child $4
SHOWTIMES:
"Mercy" (PG-13) - Feb. 25; Wednesday at 7 p.m.
"Goat" (PG) - Feb. 27-28, March 1 and 4: Friday/Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. and Wednesday at 7 p.m.
COZAD
Fox Theater, 100 E. Eighth St.
Ticket Pricing: Adult $9, Student/Seniors/Military $8, 5 and under $6.50, Matinee (all ages) $6.50
SHOWTIMES:
"Wuthering Heights" (R) - Feb. 24-26; Tuesday-Thursday at 7 p.m.
"Goat" (PG) - Feb. 24-26; Tuesday-Thursday at 7:20 p.m.
"I Can Only Imagine 2" (PG) - Feb. 24-26; Tuesday-Thursday at 7:10 p.m.
GOTHENBURG
Sun Theatre, 404 10th St.
Ticket Pricing: Adult $5, Child (12 and under) $3, Senior Citizen $4
SHOWTIMES:
"Crime 101" (R) - Feb. 27-28 and March 1; Friday/Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.
"Hoppers" (PG) - March 6-8, 13-25; Friday/Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The Lexington Public Library hours are: Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m. — 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. — 5 p.m., Sunday: Closed. Watch for lots of fun programs and activities this summer. Also, we are continuing curbside services; call the library at 308-324-2151 for information.
Novel Stitchers meets on Tuesdays from 3-5 p.m. in the Board Room of the Library.
Storytime meets at the Library on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
The Wilson Public Library normal hours are: Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. — 7 p.m., Friday: 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. and Saturday: 10 a.m. — 1 p.m. Public and private meetings have resumed, with 24-hour notice appreciated. Limits to how many attendees based upon room need, what equipment is available and other restrictions can be found by calling us at 308-784-2019 or stopping at the front desk. Normal policies about room rental can be found under Policies at wilsonpubliclibrary.org.
LEXINGTON GRAND GENERATION CENTER
The exercise room is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
MONDAY
10 a.m. - Frog
12:45 p.m. - I've Got It
TUESDAY
9 a.m. - Movie Time
12:45 p.m. - Pool
1 p.m. - Bunco and Foot Clinic
2:30 p.m. - Hot Cookies
WEDNESDAY
12:45 p.m. - Cards
1 p.m. - Frog
THURSDAY
12:45 p.m. - Farkle
12:45 p.m. - Pool
FRIDAY
12:45 p.m. - Cards
1 p.m. - Frog
LEXINGTON GRAND GENERATION CENTER MENU
Homemade bread every day. Choice of skim, 2% or chocolate milk. No reservations are needed except for large groups. Serving time: 11:30 a.m. Please call 308-324-2498 by 10 a.m. for delivery or carryout meals.
MONDAY
Taco Soup, Cheese Cubes, Pickled Beets, Potato Salad, Apple Slices
TUESDAY
Chicken Pot Pie, Candi Yams, Hawaiian Carrots, Tropical Fruit
WEDNESDAY
Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Boiled Potatoes, Corn, Mandarin Oranges
THURSDAY
Pork Fritters with Gravy, Potatoes with Gravy, Tomato Medley, Peaches
FRIDAY
Potato Bar, Meat Sauce, Baked Potato, Broccoli and Cheese, Pineapple, Bread Stick, Dessert
COZAD GRAND GENERATION CENTER
When Cozad schools are closed due to inclement weather, the center will also be closed. Check KRVN or the TV for weather related closings.
MONDAY
10 a.m. - Free Groceries
1 p.m. - Pitch
TUESDAY
Noon- Rotary
Noon - Commodities
1 p.m. - Dominos
8 p.m. - Tourism Meeting
WEDNESDAY
10 a.m. - Free Groceries
12:30 p.m. - Pinochle
FRIDAY
Noon - Bridge Marathon
COZAD GRAND GENERATION CENTER MENU
Salad Bar is available daily with meals served from 11:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.
MONDAY
Hamburger Bake, Gravy, Peaches, Corn, Fruit Bars
TUESDAY
Chicken Enchilada, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans, Cookie Salad, Ice Cream
WEDNESDAY
Pork Chop, Potato Wedges, Stuffing, Broccoli, Peach Cobbler, Ice Cream
THURSDAY
Spaghetti, Green Beans, Petite Pear Salad, Garlic Bread, Ice Cream
FRIDAY
Chili, Ham Salad Sandwich, Veggie Sticks, Fruit Cocktail, Cake
FARNAM SENIOR CENTER
When Eustis-Farnam Schools are closed due to the weather, the Senior Center will also be closed. Call ahead by 9:30 a.m. to get a meal 308-569-2359.
MONDAY
Swiss Steak, Baked Potato, Stewed Tomatoes, Applesauce, Dinner Roll
TUESDAY
Chicken Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Lettuce Salad, Pears, Dinner Roll
WEDNESDAY
Saulsbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Peaches, Dinner Roll
THURSDAY
Pork Loin, Cheesy Hashbrowns, Mixed Veggies, Fruit Cocktail, Dinner Roll
FRIDAY
Chicken Spaghetti, Beets, Broccoli Salad, Apricots, Garlic Bread
GOSPER COUNTY SENIOR CENTER
All meals are served with vegetables, fruit and a sweet item. Please call before 10 a.m. for your reservation 308-785-2500. Menu is subject to change without notice.
MONDAY
Taco Burgers
TUESDAY
Pork Chops
WEDNESDAY
Liver and Onions
THURSDAY
Meatloaf
FRIDAY
Soup and Sandwich
ORGANIZATIONS
Full of Grace: Meetings at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Nazarene Church at 919 H St. in Cozad.
Southview Group: Meetings at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays at 1804 Papio Lane in Cozad.
Westside Group: AA/NA: open meeting on Friday nights at 7 p.m. Meetings are held at Grace Lutheran Church, 105 E. 17th St., Lexington, use the south door.
Celebrate Recovery: Meetings at 7 p.m. on Fridays at Parkview Baptist Church’s Refuge Building (1105 Park St., Lexington) Contact: 308-324-4410.
Four Roads Group AA: meetings are held on Tuesdays at noon, Fridays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. at 1801 W. 18th St. in Lexington.
It Works Group: AA meetings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at noon at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 303 E. 6th St. in Lexington.
SMART Recovery meets at St. Peter’s in the Valley Episcopal Church, 905 East 13th St., Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-8:30 p.m., Saturdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Grupo Lexington AA (Spanish Speaking): open meetings on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m., at 114 W. 6th St. in Lexington.
Sumner AA Group: meets Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at the United Church of Sumner, 504 Main St., Sumner. For more information call 308-325-5827.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings: Meetings at 8 p.m. on Thursdays at Hope Lutheran Church, 74094 Road 436 in Smithfield. Call 308-785-3567 or 308-472-3376.
Pony Express Group AA: meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays at the Gothenburg Evangelical Free Church (515 18th St) in Gothenburg.
Thirsty Thursday by the Cemetery: Meetings held on Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church (2002 27th St.) in Gothenburg.
Parkinson’s Disease Support Group meetings are held the second Thursday each month at 2 p.m. at Lexington Regional Health Center (1201 N. Erie St., Lexington). For more information contact Dixie Menke at 308-325-5350.
Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska Immunization Clinic, first and third Mondays every month: Open 10 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. by appointment at 931 W. Seventh St., Lexington. Previous vaccination records required. Contact 308-325-3436 or 308-325-3169.
Dawson/Gosper County CASA: seeking Volunteers. CASA Volunteers are everyday people from all walks of life, who advocate through the court system in the interests of children. Contact 308-324-7364.
News
Top Story Spotlight Topical
Held by ICE, left in North Platte: ‘What do we expect people to do?’
The Lincoln County Jail in North Platte has held 50 or more federal immigration detainees consistently since June, says County Sheriff Jerome Kramer (left). Ever since then, HOPE Esperanza Executive Director TinaMaria Fernandez (right) and her staff have helped detainees obtain legal assistance, reach loved ones and find their way home when they're released.
Dealing with unexpected North Platte arrivals from Washington’s nationwide immigration raids has become routine for Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer and his Detention Center staff.
And for TinaMaria Fernandez, whose HOPE Esperanza nonprofit works alongside them to provide a humane touch in a politically charged situation.
Their unofficial partnership evolved quickly last June when the jail, which regularly holds people in federal custody, suddenly found itself with 64 Latino employees of Omaha’s Glenn Valley Foods meatpacking plant.
ICE: Most detained Glenn Valley Foods workers being held, processed in North Platte facility
Kramer: All Glenn Valley detainees gone, most are back with families
Three months after Omaha raid: One ICE detention chapter winds down, another heats up
All were gone by summer’s end, many of them reunited with their families after Kramer’s team and Fernandez’s staff sorted through their cases, linked them with legal aid, provided basic needs and helped them return home if released.
But dozens of other U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees have taken their places since.
50 detainees ‘pretty constantly’
In a recent joint Telegraph interview, Kramer and Fernandez said the North Platte jail continues to receive a constant flow of immigrants from multiple states as ICE carries out Trump administration directives to root out and deport illegal immigrants.
About 50 have “pretty constantly” been part of the North Platte jail’s recent population, Kramer said. Even as ICE sends more there, “we’re taking them out on a regular basis” as their detention status is resolved.
He said many have had no pending criminal cases, a stated target of the crackdown. “All the criminal history we were provided was (for) crimes they had committed and crimes they had served time for.”
Kramer said others had been legally living and working in the U.S. — some since the mid-1990s — only to be thrown into limbo because the federal government revoked their work permits or legal status.
“They made the situation criminal,” the sheriff said. “The detainee didn’t.”
As with the Glenn Valley Foods group, Fernandez said, HOPE Esperanza helps the more recent detainees clear up their cases, connect with loved ones and make their way home.
She said her group doesn’t pay for plane or bus tickets, but it does help secure tickets or hotel stays that loved ones pay for. Detainees can make use of HOPE Esperanza’s food pantry or “clothing closet” if needed.
“We’re really just sitting with them, providing the interpretation, sometimes the digital access on our computers, sometimes our phones to let them contact their family,” Fernandez said.
If ICE decides to release them, “the Sheriff’s Office is supposed to just open up the doors and release them,” she said. “But sometimes (they) have no money, no phone … no resources here, no contacts, and they’re expected to somehow make it back to their communities.
“I see (this effort) as really public safety with compassion and human dignity. Like, how do we serve people that are not from our community? They don’t have roots here. They’re not intending to settle here.”
“Quite honestly,” Kramer said, “I think they’re blessed when they get assigned to my facility, because they know that there’s compassion there and that we have a relationship with HOPE Esperanza and we can help the ones that need help. …
“I think some people may look at this situation wrong. They think I support illegal activity, and that’s not the case at all. I support the people that need to go back to their families and need some compassion and some help.”
Twin Cities ‘surge’
The sheriff said Lincoln County receives $74 a day for each detainee or federal inmate it houses at the current Detention Center, which opened in 2011 and was expanded in 2021.
They included just under half of a 39-person planeload from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in mid-December, in the early stages of a “surge” of hundreds of ICE agents there that prompted broad community protests and the January shooting deaths of two protesters.
Kramer said 19 detainees were sent to his jail, while ICE took the rest to McCook and its converted former state Work Ethic Camp it dubbed the “Cornhusker Clink.”
“There was never any reason given” for the division, he said, but “McCook tends to send the ones our direction that have a criminal past.”
Even so, the Minnesota detainees — like those kept in North Platte before and after them — largely didn’t pose any active criminal threat, Kramer said.
“I hear it in the community, people saying, ‘Get them all out of here. Get them all out of here,’” he said.
“Well, they don’t all fit the same profile. We can’t just go arrest everybody and drag them into jails and sort it out later. We’d get our pants sued off.”
Kramer said all but three of North Platte’s detainees were originally from Somalia, a major target group of ICE’s Twin Cities mission. One was Asian, while a second originally came from Guatemala and a third from Honduras.
Minnesota boasts a large Somali refugee population, with many leaving their homeland after a 1990s civil war. With that much passage of time, “we didn’t have a language barrier this time” in helping them like after the Omaha meatpacking raid, the sheriff said.
All 19 have returned home to Minnesota or otherwise moved on, with the last leaving the North Platte jail a week ago, Fernandez said.
One of the first to go made it back through what she called a “Christmas miracle.”
Abdulkadir Sharif Abdi, an addiction recovery counselor and one of the Somali detainees, was held as an alleged “active gang member” by ICE during the first Trump administration in 2018 but released after Abdi filed a federal habeas corpus petition.
Abdi, 47, was picked up again in December and sent to North Platte. He had an active U.S. work permit, a copy of which Fernandez showed to The Telegraph along with a copy of his Minnesota driver’s license.
He also had a past criminal history, which Fernandez said dated back to when he was 18 and stole a car soon after arriving in Minnesota.
Back then, “he was young and he was with the wrong crowd, hanging out with some gang people,” Fernandez said.
Abdi filed another habeas corpus petition Dec. 9, and Nebraska U.S. District Judge Susan Bazis ordered his interim release Dec. 23.
But “he was brought here with nothing except the clothes on his back,” Kramer said.
He took Abdi to HOPE Esperanza, where Fernandez and her team got him some food and connected him with his wife in Minnesota, the sheriff said.
She couldn’t drive to North Platte, but she sent copies of his identification, paid for a North Platte hotel room and found a Christmas Day flight he could take to the St. Paul airport where she worked.
When Fernandez took him to Lee Bird, she told the U.S. Transportation Security Administration agent on duty that Kramer “was on standby” by phone to verify Abdi’s copied driver’s license was legitimate.
“It took a long time,” she said, but she was encouraged because the TSA agent was wearing a red hat with a Santa Claus face and a bracelet that said “Make the difference.”
“They called, they verified and they checked on everything, they ran everything through,” she said.
Abdi got on the plane and made it home before Christmas Day ended, even with a long layover in Denver. He keeps in touch with the people who helped him in North Platte, Fernandez said.
She and Kramer spoke with The Telegraph Feb. 13, after the sheriff returned from a Kenyan eye-care mission led by retired North Platte optometrist Dr. Kim Baxter but before taking medical leave for back surgery.
A day or two earlier, Fernandez said, she got a phone call about a Venezuelan man — also from Minnesota — who had been released from the McCook ICE detention center and dropped off at a North Platte bus stop.
ICE had held him since the start of its Twin Cities operation, she said. HOPE Esperanza took him in hand, and he made it home.
“He was released and just dumped out here,” Kramer said.
“He had no phone, no money, spoke no English,” Fernandez added. “A young guy, too. What do we expect people to do?”
News
Top Story Spotlight
Amid Minnesota ICE crackdown, officials quietly transferred detainees to Nebraska jails
The unprecedented immigration sweeps in Minnesota over the past two months have landed at least 20 detained immigrants in an unexpected place: a Nebraska county jail.
Cass, Lincoln and Sarpy counties all have housed immigrants arrested in Minnesota since December, according to a Flatwater Free Press analysis of federal court documents and reviews of jail rosters. The analysis also found at least seven cases involving a detainee held at the former state prison in McCook that is now a federal immigration detention center.
In court filings and interviews, lawyers have argued that shipping detainees across state lines makes it harder to provide adequate legal representation. Among the complications: Lawyers in Minnesota may not be licensed to practice in Nebraska.
And some fear federal immigration officials are testing the judicial waters in Nebraska in search of more sympathetic judges. Last year, the federal government broke with decades of precedent and argued anyone who entered the U.S. without permission must be detained without bond during deportation proceedings. Since then, judges have issued differing opinions on that change, though the majority have disputed its legality.
“Minnesota has been a very difficult jurisdiction for ICE to win on that issue … So I don't know this for sure, but my fear is that they're actually trying to pick who they will be in front of so that they can try and win some of these issues,” said Alexander Smith, an Iowa-based lawyer representing one of the Minnesota detainees.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to questions about why immigration officials are moving Minnesota detainees to Nebraska jails.
“We’ve talked to a lot of sheriffs throughout the nation, we have unprecedented cooperation,” Border Czar Tom Homan said during a Feb. 4 press conference in Minneapolis. “I have yet to talk to a sheriff that said no. There are still more sheriffs we are in discussions with and talking to, but I have not heard the word no. I think they want to do the right thing for their communities, too.”
Federal immigration officers prepare to enter a home to make an arrest after an officer used a battering ram to break down a door Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis.
Nebraska is far from the only state housing immigrants detained in Minnesota — a reality that reflects the scope of what the federal government has called Operation Metro Surge. More than 4,000 people have been arrested since the December start of the operation, which has centered on Minneapolis. Many of those detainees have been shipped out of state shortly after their arrests, presenting a bureaucratic nightmare for their lawyers.
“They are supposed to notify us of transfers, but it's very haphazard as to whether you actually receive a notification,” said Stacey Rogers, a Minnesota lawyer representing an immigrant who was detained at the Lincoln County jail in North Platte. “We'll schedule something with a client to have a consultation, and then that client doesn't turn up, and we're calling the facility, we're trying to find out what's happened, where they are, and they say, ‘Oh, that person's no longer here.’ And that's how we end up finding out.”
Rapid-fire transfers can also complicate securing legal representation. Smith, the Iowa-based lawyer, started representing his client after he was transferred to Nebraska because his previous counsel wasn’t licensed to practice in the state.
“That's where our office is coming in a lot,” Smith said. “Some Minnesota attorney reaches out, says, ‘Oh, crap, I need some help with somebody in Nebraska.’”
Number unclear
Flatwater documented the presence of Minnesota detainees in Nebraska by examining habeas corpus petitions, filings that challenge the government’s legal authority to detain someone and seek their release from custody or the opportunity for a bond hearing.
Since December, more than a dozen Minnesota detainees have filed petitions. Seven have been granted bond hearings, and three have been ordered released.
The petition numbers undercount the total number of Minnesota detainees in Nebraska. Immigrants facing deportation are not provided a government-appointed lawyer, placing the onus of finding and paying for representation on them in many cases.
Lt. Penny L. Ball with the Lincoln County Detention Center told Flatwater that the jail received 19 detainees from Minnesota, four of whom had since been removed or released. As of Feb. 4, 15 remained in custody. A Sarpy County communications manager said the county’s detention center is currently holding one Minnesota transfer. Cass County Sheriff Robert Sorenson said his office doesn’t comment on detention matters for safety reasons. ICE did not respond when asked how many Minnesota detainees are being held in McCook. The center opened with the capacity to hold 200 detainees, and an expansion is underway.
The counties have intergovernmental agreements, where they collect a fee for housing federal detainees. Lincoln County receives $74 a day per detainee, while Sarpy County receives $100 a day.
Solomon Steen, a Minnesota lawyer representing an immigrant who was detained at the McCook Detention Center and later ordered released, said he expects immigrants will be shipped to more states as the administration’s preferred detention sites reach capacity.
“What I've seen in terms of data is about a four times increase in arrests and a four to five times increase in removal,” he said. “So I would assume a lot of this is just the administration figuring out where they have a conveyor belt where they can get people removed as quickly as possible … following that pattern until they exhaust their capacity there, and then start looking at other places that can either warehouse people or remove people.”
Nebraska’s federal judges have seen an influx of detention challenges as the Trump administration increases immigration enforcement across the country. In January alone, 16 immigrant detainees filed petitions seeking relief in the District Court of Nebraska. By comparison, 10 were filed in Nebraska from 2017 to 2024. Twenty-six were filed in 2025, largely driven by an immigration raid at Glenn Valley Foods last summer.
At issue is a reinterpretation of longstanding immigration law. In July, ICE and the Department of Justice announced immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally and lived there for years would no longer be eligible for bond hearings in front of an immigration judge.
Previously, mandatory detention without bond was generally reserved for a specific class of immigrants — those who had recently crossed the border seeking admission to the U.S. Immigrants who had entered without presenting themselves to immigration authorities and lived in the U.S. for an extended period of time were generally eligible for bond hearings, where they could argue for their release during deportation proceedings.
After a Board of Immigration Appeals ruling in September, the policy change became binding for immigration judges, who are separate from the federal judiciary and handle deportation proceedings.
But it is not binding for district judges, tasked with assessing habeas claims. Court documents show Nebraska district judges have varied in their willingness to accept the government’s argument for mandatory detention of all immigrants. While judges Susan Bazis, Joseph Bataillon and John Gerrard have ruled in favor of detainees, two others — Brian Buescher, a Trump appointee, and Robert Rossiter, an Obama appointee — have been more receptive to the government’s position.
Buescher and Rossiter have both been assigned habeas cases filed by the Minnesota detainees, but have yet to issue rulings.
On Friday, the Fifth Circuit became the first appeals court to hear the government’s argument — and ruled 2-1 in the Trump administration’s favor. The Eighth Circuit, which includes Nebraska, has a case of its own pending on the same issue.
“For months, activist judges have ordered the release of alien after alien based on the false claim that DHS was breaking the law. Today, the first court of appeals to address the question ruled that @DHSGov was right all along,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a social media post after the ruling.
‘These are all people’
The circumstances and origins of the Minnesota immigrants challenging their detention in Nebraska vary. Several are originally from Ecuador. Others are El Salvadoran, Somali or Mexican.
At least two who have filed habeas petitions have pending applications for U Visas, meant for victims of violent crime. Another has applied for a T Visa, intended for victims of trafficking.
Most of their arrests flew under the radar. But the arrest of one man, Somali refugee Abdulkadir Sharif Abdi, received national media attention after ICE described him as an active gang member, a description that community members contested.
Abdi has been convicted of multiple crimes, including theft of property, shoplifting and disorderly conduct, but had since become an addiction recovery leader, according to CBS News. He had previously been detained in 2018, but was released after a successful habeas petition.
After his arrest in December, Abdi was transferred to the Lincoln County Detention Center in North Platte. The community there is no stranger to ICE detentions; more than 60 immigrants arrested during the Glenn Valley Foods workplace raid, four hours away, were detained there.
HOPE-Esperanza, a nonprofit serving North Platte’s minority community, agreed to provide translation services and other support to the Glenn Valley detainees, support that Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer said was essential at a time when the jail was understaffed and navigating a large increase to its population.
Six months after the Glenn Valley raid, HOPE-Esperanza received a call from a legal advocate inquiring about whether Abdi and several other detainees were being held in Lincoln County. TinaMaria Fernandez, founder of the nonprofit, passed the inquiry on to jail administrators, who confirmed his presence.
“We always take every effort to get them in touch with an attorney to get their case heard,” Kramer wrote in an email to Flatwater.
Abdi ultimately filed a habeas petition on Dec. 9 claiming his detention was unlawful, and Bazis, the judge presiding over his case, ordered his interim release on Dec. 23 after the government indicated it would not contest his petition.
“The Court is aware of, and respects, the Executive Branch’s need to enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” Bazis wrote in her ruling. “The Court reiterates that its conclusions as to Abdi’s constitutional claims are driven by the Federal Respondents’ decision not to respond to the petition and the practical result that Abdi’s evidence is uncontroverted.”
Abdi got out of jail on Christmas Eve. Kramer said he took him to HOPE-Esperanza, where Fernandez helped him contact his family and get clean clothes, food and a hotel room for the night. The organization also helped his family navigate booking a flight to Minneapolis for his return on Christmas Day. Fernandez admitted she thought it would take a “Christmas miracle” to get him boarded.
“All we had was the immigration paperwork,” she said. “I had his wife send me a photocopy of his driver's license … And I thought, how are we going to get him on this plane without TSA- compliant documentation? Because ICE had kept all of that.”
Fernandez explained the situation to the TSA agents, provided them with the copy of his license and the federal ruling ordering his release, let them know she had Kramer on standby to verify and waited as the agents conducted the necessary checks. By the end, they had gotten their miracle — Abdi made it home to his wife.
He isn’t the only released immigrant from out of state who HOPE-Esperanza has helped. Fernandez said they assisted an individual from South Dakota as well, and they have even fielded calls from people seeking assistance from Florida.
“Everybody needs information in their own language, they all need help navigating,” she said. “When you're let out of the county jail in North Platte, Nebraska, and you're from South Dakota and you don't have a cellphone and you don't have ID and you don't have any money, what are you supposed to do?”
The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
