Metro sends man to ICE despite court order, ACLU says

A man at the center of a lawsuit challenging Las Vegas police’s collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement was released to federal agents without any notice to his attorneys and in defiance of a court order, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

Sergio Morais-Hechavarria was transferred to a Texas immigration facility on Oct. 16, three days after the ACLU filed the suit against the Metropolitan Police Department related to its 287(g) agreement with ICE, according to an amended complaint filed Thursday.

The program allows Metro staff at the Clark County Detention Center to notify ICE when certain “foreign born” inmates are booked at the jail. If ICE wants to take custody of inmates, corrections officers are able to serve warrants that allow federal agents up to 48 hours after the person is set to be released in their local cases to conduct a pickup.

The ACLU suit challenged Metro’s authority to enter into the agreement, alleging that the Nevada Legislature didn’t give the police department power to sign onto it because it’s not being reimbursed by the federal government.

“(Metro) releasing Mr. Morais-Hechavarria into ICE custody immediately after we filed a legal challenge to their unlawful cooperation with ICE is egregious,” said ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah in a statement.

Added Haseebullah: “If a local government agency like (Metro) is permitted to arbitrarily enter into agreements with the federal government with no state legislative authorization to do so and to thereafter disregard a lawfully issued Nevada court order at its own discretion, we face a major separation of powers issue with both our state legislature and state judiciary lacking coequal power.”

McMahill comments on the suit

Sheriff Kevin McMahill was asked about the case Thursday at an unrelated press conference.

He reiterated that his agency’s collaboration with ICE is limited to the jail.

McMahill acknowledged that Morais-Hechavarria was no longer in Metro’s custody, noting that he couldn’t “get into deep” into the discussion, alluding to the department’s policy to not comment on pending lawsuits.

He said corrections officers who will have the authority to serve ICE warrants have completed their training.

“We are still waiting for ICE to acknowledge the existence of the training and move that forward,” McMahill added.

Still, Metro hasn’t needed to invoke the 287(g) powers because ICE has been at the jail picking up inmates every day, he said.

“We haven’t actually held anybody 48 hours over yet,” he said.

Plaintiff held more than 48 hours

The ACLU noted in the lawsuit that Morais-Hechavarria was held by Metro for weeks after he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempt possession of a stolen vehicle in July, a gross misdemeanor.

A District Court judge in August gave him a suspended jail sentence, ordering him instead to report to a treatment program when a bed was available, the lawsuit said. A county social worker informed Metro that Morais-Hechavarria was “ready to go,” the lawsuit said.

An online District Court docket shows no changes to the case since the lawsuit was filed, including new rulings.

Pressed by a public defender about how long he could be held on a detainer, the Metro representative said that Morais-Hechavarria couldn’t be released to ICE unless the judge rescinded the inpatient program order, the suit said.

“While Petitioner Morais-Hechavarria’s confinement was at first lawful, once he was released on his criminal charges, ordered to inpatient care, and a bed at the treatment facility became available, (Metro) no longer had a legal basis to hold him in custody,” the complaint argued.

Las Vegas Justice Court records show a history of criminal cases linked to Morais-Hechavarria that dates back to 2016, including a guilty plea in 2017 for attempt possession of a stolen vehicle.

Metro signed onto the 287(g) program a day after the Trump administration classified Las Vegas as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants.

Jail staff already was flagging undocumented immigrants booked on allegations of violent crime, DUI and domestic violence. The list expanded to include theft-related arrests after President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act shortly after he took office in January.

According to the lawsuit, Metro had received 957 detainer requests from ICE this year through August, compared with 32 during the same time period in 2024.

“They are taking some people that have been charged with very, very serious offenses to include, murder, shootings, child molestation, child pornography and many, many other things,” McMahill said.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.