Lombardo to deploy Nevada National Guard to assist ICE
Gov. Joe Lombardo is in the process of authorizing the Nevada National Guard to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his spokesperson confirmed Friday afternoon.
Elizabeth Ray, the governor’s spokesperson, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Nevada National Guard will assist in a temporary, administrative capacity. Its deployment also will be fully federally funded.
Lombardo’s authorization comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice designating the state of Nevada a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, which Nevada officials on both sides of the aisle rejected.
The Republican governor has long expressed that he fully supports President Donald Trump’s deportation plans and immigration goals. In December, he signed a letter alongside other Republican governors pledging to “make America safe again by addressing the illegal immigration crisis and deporting illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security.”
He has previously said he would not send Nevada National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist with border security.
Lombardo will not deploy the guard out of Nevada; rather the guard will assist internally in “non-front-facing operations and administrative processes,” his office said without providing additional details.
Capt. Emerson Marcus, public affairs officer for the Nevada National Guard, told the Review-Journal on Friday that the guard is still in its planning stages. It is working with Homeland Security and the governor’s office on what the duties will look like.
About 35 soldiers will assist ICE, Marcus said. It will be clerical, administrative and logistics work, and it will not involve any law enforcement duties, he said in a phone interview.
The Nevada Immigrant Coalition and other groups condemned the governor’s use of the state’s National Guard on Friday evening, expressing concerns about Nevadans assisting in the deportation of their own community members.
“Lombardo is willing to enlist Nevadans to separate families and his lack of transparency regarding his agreements to sign Nevadans up to do ‘temporary administrative duties’ with the Trump Administration/ICE is concerning and unclear,” the coalition said in a Friday statement.
Cecelia González, chair of the Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus, called Lombardo’s decision an “unprecedented use of our guard.”
“I also think it’s like a betrayal of what they have been asked to do, which is to protect our community,” she told the Review-Journal in a phone interview.
The federal government’s immigration policies are not protecting the community but terrorizing it, González said, adding that the governor cares more about showing loyalty to the Trump administration than Nevadans.
Michael Kagan, the director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic, called the decision an “ominous milestone” on his website Friday. He said Nevada is a small state with mixed families, and Nevada National Guard members are typical Nevadans.
“Which means that members of the Nevada National Guard will now be asked, directly or indirectly, to assist in the deportations of their own family members and neighbors. This is brutal and cruel.”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said the Nevada National Guard should be focused on protecting national security and responding to emergencies such as natural disasters, “not assisting with President Trump’s indiscriminate mass deportations that are hurting hardworking Nevada families.”
Neither the Clark County Republican Party nor the Nevada Republican Party could be reached for comment.
The Washoe County Republican Party defended Lombardo’s decision, calling it “true leadership in action.” In a social media post, the party said Lombardo “is telling the nation and world that Nevada is not and will never be a sanctuary state.”
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
