LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — President Donald Trump's Monday executive order targeting so-called "sanctuary jurisdictions" has once again raised a question: Is Nevada a sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants?
WATCH | Is Nevada a sanctuary jurisdiction?
Two of the most conservative immigration groups say no. Neither the Federation for American Immigration Reform nor the Center for Immigration Studies has Nevada — or any city or county in the state — on its lists.
Trump's executive order calls on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Homeland Security to publish a list of jurisdictions that are obstructing federal immigration enforcement. States, cities or counties on that list could lose grant funding or government contracts, and face further penalties.
SCRIPPS NEWS GROUP | New executive order threatens to cut off federal funding for sanctuary cities
But Nevada has been here before: In 2017, during Trump's first term, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put Clark County on a list of "non-cooperative jurisdictions."
That drew objections from then-Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who insisted his department did cooperate with the federal agency. Metro at the time participated in the 287(g) program, in which certain corrections officers at the Clark County Detention Center were deputized to enforce federal immigration law.
During a July 2017 visit to Las Vegas, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Clark County's status was "under review."
Lombardo in 2019 canceled the 287(g) partnership after a court ruling questioned the constitutionality of some aspects of the program. But Lombardo later revealed that the department continued to cooperate with ICE, alerting authorities when undocumented criminals were released from jail so they could be taken into immigration custody.
But that didn't stop the issue from haunting him on the campaign trail when he left the sheriff's job to run for governor in 2022. His Republican primary election opponents accused him of being soft on immigration.
More recently, Lombardo did the same thing to Democratic state Attorney General Aaron Ford, who has announced he will run for governor in 2026. After Ford published a set of model immigration policies — which he was required to do by a 2021 state law — Lombardo issued a statement saying "the attorney general does not have the authority to make Nevada a sanctuary state or jurisdiction. As long as I am Governor, Nevada will continue to follow federal law."
Ford shot back — "I do not support sanctuary policies. Period." — in a statement of his own, calling Lombardo's remark "political posturing."
Ford's policies were mandated by Senate Bill 376 of the 2021 session, which required rules that "foster trust between the community and state or local law enforcement agencies" and "limit, to the fullest extent practicable and consistent with any applicable law, the engagement of state or local law enforcement agencies with federal immigration authorities for the purpose of immigration enforcement."
In addition, the policies call for "limiting, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with any applicable law, immigration enforcement at public schools, institutions of higher education, health care facilities and courthouses to ensure that such places remain safe and accessible to residents of this State regardless of immigration status or citizenship of such persons."
Ford released the 72-page policy document in February.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill, who succeeded Lombardo in the top job at Metro, told the Review-Journal in a recent interview that he's rejected several requests to have his officers participate in immigration enforcement. "I've got a lot going on when it comes to crime here," he said.
Nye County, Douglas County and Mineral County all have 287(g) programs in their jails currently.
McMahill said his department does inform federal authorities when undocumented people are going to be released from the detention center, offering federal agents the chance to take them into custody.
Up in Carson City, a bill by Assemblywoman Cecelia Gonzalez, D-Clark County, would prohibit school districts and their employees from providing access to school grounds or student records for immigration purposes. Assembly Bill 217 passed the Assembly on April 17 with a bipartisan vote of 31-to-11 and now awaits action in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Whether the state's current laws and practices end up on the government's sanctuary jurisdiction list won't be known for about a month, when the list is slated to be published.
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