VICTOR JOECKS: Trump secures an immigration win in Las Vegas

What a difference President Donald Trump makes.

The Metropolitan Police Department recently announced that it will begin formally working with ICE to deport jailed illegal immigrants. It rejoined the 287(g) program, which allows some Metro corrections officers to deliver ICE warrants. Metro will also maintain custody of illegal immigrants for longer, giving federal officials a bigger window to pick them up.

“We had child pornographers being released; folks that had shot people being released,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill told Channel 8. “Yesterday we had a guy that shot at a bunch of people get released — assault with a deadly weapon — and that was also a part of the catalyst to do this that these are people that have committed very serious offenses and were in the country illegally and because of manpower issues and the timing we couldn’t turn them over to ICE.”

Those are excellent examples of why this type of coordination is important. But one suspects there was a different catalyst for this change.

In March, McMahill said he had no plans to formally re-enter the 287(g) program. But he did note that if the federal government deemed Metro “noncompliant,” it could lose $30 million in funding.

In April, Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to identify a list of sanctuary jurisdictions. That included cities and states that “obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” according to the order. He then ordered funds withheld from those areas. Late last month, the Department of Homeland Security released a long list of sanctuary jurisdictions. The list included Las Vegas.

It’s unclear if federal officials meant Metro instead of the city of Las Vegas. DHS has since taken down the list. Either way, it appears Trump’s message was received loud and clear. McMahill and Metro reversed course and now will be participating in the 287(g) program.

This is great news for Las Vegas residents. It means more illegal immigrants will now be deported. Criminals won’t just be off the streets but out of the country.

This move is also a rebuke to Attorney General Aaron Ford. In February, he released “Model Immigration Policies,” which encouraged state and local agencies to limit their cooperation with ICE. “These model policies relieve Nevada law enforcement of the burden of doing unpaid, unfunded federal immigration enforcement,” the document said.

McMahill just told Ford to pound sand.

Gov. Joe Lombardo should make this a major campaign issue, especially because Ford is running for governor. But Lombardo’s initial response was to chide the Trump administration for including Las Vegas on the list. It’s time for the governor to shift his focus. He should push other state and local law enforcement agencies to help Trump deport illegal immigrants who are already in jail.

Trump secured a win that will make Las Vegas residents safer. Nevada Republicans, led by Lombardo, should build on that victory.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen to him discuss his columns each Monday at noon with Kevin Wall on AM 670 KMZQ Right Talk. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.