LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Why did the federal government designate Nevada as a "sanctuary state"?
It's been one month since the federal government placed the state on a list of sanctuary jurisdictions, but we're no closer to learning the answer than when the list was first published.
Governor Joe Lombardo's office has been in discussions with federal officials, but has not received a specific answer as to why Nevada earned a place on the list alongside more liberal states such as California, New York and Oregon, and cities including Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
ONE MONTH AGO | Nevada fights "sanctuary state" label as Justice Department offers no explanation
Lombardo's office compiled a timeline of its efforts to cooperate with the federal government on immigration issues, dating to before President Donald Trump was elected to his second term in November 2024.
The timeline, which begins in September 2023 and runs to the present day, includes:
- Lombardo's veto of bills that prevent state or local authorities from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- An order to "terminate problematic political partnerships" between the governor's Office of New Americans and community immigration organizations, including Mi Familia Vota, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and the UNLV Immigration Clinic.
- The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's re-joining of a program to allow corrections officers to process immigration issues in the Regional Detention Center.
- Lombardo authorizing Nevada National Guard to assist federal immigration authorities with administrative tasks.
- Lombardo's "rebuke" of model immigration policies published by Attorney General Aaron Ford in compliance with state law.
Ford, a Democrat, has announced a campaign against Republican Lombardo for governor in 2026.
The timeline is the latest attempt by Nevada to avoid the sanctuary state label. According to the Justice Department, there are nine characteristics of sanctuary cities, but it's unclear precisely which ones may apply to Nevada.
Channel 13 reached out to Professor Michael Kagan, director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic, to ask about the ending of the relationship with the state. But Kagan said the clinic didn't really have one.
"It's like being told that you've broken up with someone you didn't know you were dating, to be really honest with you," Kagan said. "So I think a lot of this is political theater, and this whole sanctuary stuff is mostly political theater."
Perhaps ironically, Kagan said UNLV's immigration clinic appears on a list of resources maintained by the Justice Department's Executive Office of Immigration Review, the same organization that accused Nevada of being a sanctuary state in the first place.
One of the consequences of appearing on a list of sanctuary jurisdictions is the potential loss of federal funding, but Kagan said that threat is mostly empty because of court rulings. A 2017 challenge to one of Trump's first-term orders denying funding for sanctuary jurisdictions ended after a judge found that Congress controlled spending and the president couldn't impose new conditions by executive orders on federal funds.
"Sanctuaries never had a clear legal definition. It's always been more of a political rhetorical term, and then they won't tell states or localities why they're on the list," Kagan said. "It's the ultimate arbitrary and capricious standard, except it has no legal force."
Channel 13 repeatedly asked the Justice Department for the reason Nevada was initially placed on the sanctuary list, but despite several emails, the question was never answered. We followed up with additional inquiries, but those emails were not returned.
Kagan said the designations are frequently withdrawn. "I think the other thing that's worth noting, though, with the Trump administration, this one and the last one, when it comes to sanctuary lists, is that they have a history of being pretty obviously unprofessionally prepared. I think there was a list in the first Trump administration that was kind of similar. Everyone was like, 'what is this about'? And then it was retracted.'
In 2017, the Justice Department said Clark County was a sanctuary county, which drew protests from local officials, including then-Metro Police Sheriff Joe Lombardo.
Ultimately, after a visit to the state by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department sent Clark County a letter saying it had found no evidence that local officials were failing to cooperate with federal immigration agents.
And in May of this year, Las Vegas found itself on a list of sanctuary cities, again drawing protests from Lombardo and Mayor Shelley Berkley. The Justice Department ultimately removed Las Vegas from its list.
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