Nevada has largest percentage of illegal immigrants in nation

Don't tell Harry Reid, but a new study released Tuesday finds that the percentage of illegal immigrants among Nevada's population is the highest of any state in the union.

So, too, is the percentage of illegals in the state's work force.

Remember, it was Sen. Reid who during last year's campaign famously denied that any undocumented workers toiled in the Las Vegas construction industry. "That my be someplace, but it is not here in Nevada," he said.

Sen. Reid may want to spend more time in his home state. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, which based its data on census information, illegals account for 12.2 percent of Nevada's 1.393 million workers. Obviously, some of them work in construction, even considering the local downturn.

In addition, illegals make up 7.2 percent of Nevada's population. California (6.8 percent) and Texas (6.7 percent) were right behind.

The day before the Pew figures came out, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak warned that the county hospital could be closed within three years if it can't control costs. The hospital last year spent well over a million dollars a month providing dialysis for dozens of illegals with kidney disease.

Meanwhile, Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie on Monday hailed a program that encourages local police to work with immigration officials to identify illegals arrested for serious offenses. Since late 2008, Las Vegas corrections officers placed immigration holds on 5,184 inmates, more than 70 percent of whom had been jailed for serious crimes.

Of course, illegal immigrants aren't solely responsible for University Medical Center's financial woes, nor will most undocumented Nevadans break any major laws other than our immigration statutes. But the Pew numbers have very real ramifications for state and local policymakers -- whether it's concering UMC, the justice system or the school district -- as they struggle with the state's lingering economic malaise.