How will Laken Riley Act affect the Las Vegas Valley? It’s complicated

Uncertainty about the potential for immigration crackdowns in Nevada has emerged since a new law vastly expanded the ability of federal authorities to detain and deport migrants who end up in police custody.

The Laken Riley Act, bipartisan legislation that was supported by every member of Nevada’s congressional delegation, requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants (“aliens” under federal law) who have been arrested on suspicion of burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting. It has raised concerns about due process, because an immigrant could be detained and deported based on charges that haven’t been proved in court.

“In this country, we believe that people are innocent until proven guilty,” Leo Murrieta of Make the Road Nevada, an advocacy group, said during a January protest decrying President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. “That’s no longer the case if you’re an immigrant.”

Exactly how the Laken Riley Act will play out in Southern Nevada is unclear. The onus is on federal authorities to detain migrants covered by the act, not local law enforcement. Partnerships already exist for the sharing of information between local and federal agencies and Homeland Security, but it occurs at the discretion of local officials.

‘They should be deported’

Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia, was jogging on Feb. 22, 2024, at the University of Georgia when she was attacked and murdered by Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national.

As the case leading to Ibarra’s conviction progressed, investigators learned that Ibarra had been arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Sept. 8, 2022, after unlawfully entering the United States near El Paso, Texas, but was paroled and released for further processing.

On Aug. 31, 2023, Ibarra was arrested by the New York Police Department and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation, but he was let go by police before a detainer could be issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement requesting notification that a “removable alien” was about to be released from custody.

He also was cited in Georgia in a theft-related case and had a warrant out for his arrest at the time of Riley’s murder, according to reports.

“Multiple times, ICE and law enforcement had the opportunity to apprehend this illegal immigrant for breaking the law, but they failed, and as a result, we lost Laken Riley,” Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said in a statement. “If we allow individuals to slip through the cracks, we are doing a grave disservice to the safety of Americans, and it reflects negligence of duty on our part.”

“The bottom line is that if an undocumented immigrant breaks the law, they should be deported,” said Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., in a statement. “Laken Riley may very well still be alive today had this bill been in law.”

Metro amends policy

Under the law, it’s up to ICE officials to arrest and hold undocumented immigrants accused of the act’s listed crimes.

“If the alien is not otherwise detained by Federal, State, or local officials, (ICE) shall effectively and expeditiously take custody of the alien,” the law states.

Local police departments collaborate with immigration authorities at jails, but the law doesn’t explicitly state their role, said Sadmira Ramic, senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

“If you look at the text of the Laken Riley Act, there’s nothing that mandates local or state agencies to detain someone,” Ramic said. “It is discretionary, per the law.”

The Metropolitan Police Department has a long-standing policy of contacting immigration authorities when officers come across an undocumented inmate booked at the Clark County Detention Center on allegations of violent crimes, DUI or domestic violence — or with an immigration hold — giving ICE agents a chance to pick up the inmate.

Two days after Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, Metro amended its policy to include burglary, theft, larceny, petit larceny or assault on a police officer on the list of allegations against suspects of interest to ICE.

Metro has arrested 682 individuals on suspicion of property-related crimes between Jan. 1 and Feb. 9, according to department figures. Property crime reported to Metro had declined about 20 percent compared with the same time period in 2024.

Details weren’t available on how many people arrested, if any, were in the country without authorization.

Nevertheless, Metro maintained that its patrol officers will not enforce immigration violations on their own.

“Officers will not stop and question, detain, arrest, or place an immigration hold on any individuals on the grounds they are an undocumented immigrant,” police said.

Las Vegas Police Protective Association President Steve Grammas told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the law is “too new and too fresh for us to have any measurable data yet,” adding that “nobody has contacted us negatively about it.”

Grammas said Metro “should support” Trump’s policies.

“It’s their job to do so,” he added. “It’s not their responsibility to stand in the way.”

Henderson policy unchanged

Henderson police, who operate the Henderson Detention Center, said their policy — which dates back to 2012 — already is in step with the Laken Riley Act.

“When an individual is arrested and brought to HDC and it is determined that they are an undocumented immigrant, HDC notifies ICE regardless of their charges,” the police department said. “ICE then determines whether they wish to detain the individual at HDC.”

Henderson police have a contract that allows the federal government to hold up to 300 federal inmates at their jail.

The jail has 540 beds and a recent population of 316 inmates, including U.S. Marshals Service and ICE detainees, police said. “We do not reduce our other inmate population to accommodate more USMS/ICE detainees.”

North Las Vegas police, who operate the Las Vegas Detention Center, did not comment on their policy before the story’s publication.

ICE did not respond to an inquiry about its enforcement efforts.

‘Excessive powers’

Sadmira Ramic, senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said that, theoretically, someone accused of shoplifting could end up in deportation proceedings. A domestic violence victim falsely accused by a partner also could end up deported, she added.

“You could have someone who’s now being held without being able to seek bail with a minor offense. And they may have not even been charged, they’re not even convicted,” she said. “So, you have this weird and unprecedented act where you’re undermining the due process requirements that people typically have here in America.”

Meesha Moulton, an attorney whose practice includes immigration cases, told the Review-Journal last week that her office hadn’t received calls from clients detained under the Laken Riley Act, but she foresees that will change here “very soon.”

She said the law gives law enforcement “excessive powers” and questioned the efficiency of the law in relation to how much it would cost to implement.

NPR reported last month that the Department of Homeland Security told lawmakers it would cost about $27 billion in the first year and that it would be “impossible” to “execute within existing resources.”

Asked if there was a version of the Laken Riley Act that wouldn’t be concerning to her, the ACLU’s Ramic said that even people suspected of “the most egregious crimes” are afforded an opportunity to go in front of a judge to seek bail.

She said the law’s mandatory detention provision was “extreme.”

“Taking that out really removes the act in and of itself,” Ramic said.

Congressional support

In statements to the Review-Journal, Nevada’s Democratic U.S. senators and House members, who all voted for the Laken Riley Act, defended their votes while deflecting questions about advocates’ concerns relating to migrants ending up in federal custody over accusations of minor crimes.

Only Rep. Steven Horsford addressed the concerns in an interview. Others sent written responses to queries.

“For individuals who are here without proper documentation who commit crimes, we need to work to make sure that the communities that we live and work in are safe,” Horsford told the Review-Journal.

Horsford said due process and the rights of those who are undocumented are important, saying those issues were raised in the process of drafting the bill. “And I will continue to find ways in future legislation to make sure that those protections are in place,” he added.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto echoed Horsford.

“I’ll always stand up for Nevada’s immigrant communities — including the thousands of law-abiding undocumented immigrants who are being threatened by President Donald Trump’s indiscriminate mass deportation plans,” she said in a statement. “But for the small number who commit crimes, law enforcement needs to have the tools to hold them accountable.”

Cortez Masto’s office also said the law doesn’t deny access to attorneys “or supersede other systems we have to ensure immigrants are treated fairly.”

A spokesperson for Sen. Jacky Rosen said the bill would “keep Nevada families safe and make sure that individuals who commit crimes are held accountable.”

Rep. Dina Titus said most migrants don’t come to the United States to commit crimes, but those who do should be held accountable. She said her office was in the process of reaching out to concerned community members.

“Instead of taking a piecemeal approach on this issue, I urge House Republicans to bring forward the bipartisan immigration reform bill I supported in the last Congress that strengthens border security while giving law-abiding immigrants a pathway to citizenship,” Titus said.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Meesha Moulton’s occupation.

Review-Journal reporter Jessica Hill contributed to this story. Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.