Is Nevada a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants?

President Donald Trump on Monday issued an executive order that will target so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions the administration claims impede with immigration enforcement.

The White House hasn’t publicly accused any Nevada jurisdiction of falling into that designation, but the order directs the government to “publish a list” of noncompliant jurisdictions within 30 days.

Gov. Joe Lombardo, Clark County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom and Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said they don’t oversee sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants.

“Nevada is not a sanctuary state or jurisdiction,” the Republican governor’s office wrote in a statement. “As long as Governor Lombardo is in office, Nevada will continue to follow federal law.”

Berkley has repeatedly said the classification doesn’t apply to the city.

“We follow federal law, and we will do everything that we are supposed to under the law in order to comply with it,” she said during a bimonthly press conference in March.

Current ICE collaboration

The Metropolitan Police Department reports certain migrants booked at the county jail to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, giving the agents a chance to pick them up when they’re released.

People with immigration holds or those accused of violent crimes, DUI and domestic violence are reportable by Metro, which is also flagging illegal immigrants accused of theft-related crimes to comply with the Laken Riley Act.

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill has said that the informal notification agreement only applies to the jail. He said he turned down requests from federal law enforcement partners to allow officers to enforce immigration laws outside the detention center.

A similar process occurs in Henderson. Police cross-reference inmates at the jail and place holds when requested. It also contracts the Henderson Detention Center to house ICE detainees. North Las Vegas hasn’t commented on immigration policy.

The Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding for so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions, although it’s not clear how that would play out.

“There’s lots of conversation around withholding grants across the spectrum of the federal government,” McMahill said. “With all that’s going on, we have an exposure of about $30 million for programs and personnel at Metro if we were deemed to be noncompliant.”

As of Monday, there were only two Nevada law enforcement agencies with formal ICE agreements: the sheriff offices at Mineral and Douglas counties. Both are limited to the county jails.

The 287 (g) program contracts signed this year fall under the “Warrant Service Officer” model, which deputizes corrections officers to “serve and execute” immigration warrants on jail inmates.

Metro and the city of Las Vegas exited its 287 (g) agreements in 2019. McMahill said in March that Metro wasn’t planning to re-enter the program, but that it could change if the federal government passes a law that requires it to.

Where the state stands

Conflicting public commentary from Lombardo and Attorney General Aaron Ford could factor into the state’s status as a sanctuary state, an immigration reform group said. Ira Mehlman, media director with Federation for American Immigration Reform, said a 2021 law passed by the Legislature during Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak’s administration would likely be considered “sanctuary policy.”

That law ordered the attorney general to provide immigration-related policy guidance to law enforcement agencies, courts, schools and health care facilities in the state. If an entity doesn’t adopt the model policies, then they must inform the attorney general’s office and share a copy of its own immigration policies.

But since then, Lombardo has pushed back at those policies and said the state “will continue to follow federal law” — setting himself at odds with Ford.

“At this point there’s some difference of opinion between the governor and the attorney general,” Mehlman said.

Ford’s office declined to comment. The Democrat is challenging Lombardo in the upcoming governor’s race.

Mehlman said the takeaway for Nevada jurisdictions should be for them to follow Trump’s interpretation of federal immigration law.

“They might find themselves, kind of like Harvard and Columbia, losing out on a whole bunch of money or other sanctions from the federal government,” he said.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X. Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.