LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada's Democratic lawmakers are mounting a coordinated response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations affecting schools and students statewide.
RELATED | Student-led anti-ICE protests in Las Vegas enter second day
From calls for federal funding cuts to support for student protests, elected officials are pushing back against what they describe as excessive enforcement tactics that violate constitutional rights and create fear in educational settings.
WATCH | Channel 13's team coverage on lawmakers' ICE pushback following protests at Las Vegas schools
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto calls for ICE funding cuts and oversight
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a former federal prosecutor and Nevada attorney general, accused ICE agents of using excessive force, violating constitutional rights and arresting U.S. citizens during recent enforcement operations.
"From what I have seen across the country is this administration is sending in their federal enforcement for oppression and tyranny for a reason, for power, to go after their political opponents, to scare people," Cortez Masto said in an interview.
WATCH | Our full interview with Senator Cortez Masto
Cortez Masto is advocating legislation that would reprogram about $75 billion in extra ICE funding included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to local law enforcement agencies trained in community policing.
"Yes, we want to go after the violent criminals. Yes, we want to hold people accountable, but it's also our law enforcement officers [who] are also trained to protect people's constitutional rights," Cortez Masto said.
She criticized arrest quotas issued by immigration officials as unusual and contrary to proper law enforcement training.
"Now I don't know any law enforcement officer at a state or local level that goes out with a quota. That is not how you train. It is not public safety," she said.
Cortez Masto called for Congress to assert its oversight role over executive branch actions, criticizing Republicans for failing to hold oversight hearings.
"We can have oversight hearings, and rightfully so, we should be having oversight hearings on all of this to hold these people accountable," she said.
Sen. Jacky Rosen supports student protests, criticizes school enforcement
U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen echoed concerns about ICE operations near schools, saying students and parents shouldn't have to worry about immigration enforcement while focusing on education.
"They not only have to worry about school shootings, now they have to worry about ICE in the parking lot for each and every student that's there or the parents who are picking them up," Rosen said.
Rosen expressed support for student-led protests against ICE enforcement tactics, calling peaceful demonstration part of how democracy works.
RELATED | CCSD Students who participated in ICE protest walkouts share why they demonstrated
"In America we do have the right to peacefully protest. We have the right to stand up and make our voices heard," she said.
Rosen told reporters she supports holding federal agencies accountable and wants enforcement to follow the Constitution without putting fear on students or families.
State lawmakers push for school protection guidance
The concerns come as questions pour into newsrooms from parents reporting ICE agents on or near school campuses. These reports prompted lawmakers to pass Assembly Bill 4 during last year's special session, limiting when federal immigration officers can access Nevada school grounds or student information.
The new law requires warrants or very narrow exceptions for ICE agents to enter school property.
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Canizzaro is pushing for statewide guidance on implementing the law. While the Nevada Department of Education has shared legal resources with schools and reports no known cases of federal immigration officers attempting to enter campuses without lawful orders, Canizzaro says detailed guidance is still needed.
"I do think that the Department of Education should be working hand in hand with school districts, administrators and local law enforcement to come up with plans for what to do if a federal immigration official does show up on a school campus," Canizzaro said.
She wants the department to release a detailed guidance memo so every school knows exactly what to do if federal immigration officers arrive on campus.
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