The ACLU of Nevada applauds the recent decision by the Mesquite Police Department’s not to enter into a 287(g) program. Mesquite would have become the second city in Nevada to implement a 287(g) program after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police signed onto the program in October 2008.

Burning Man has invited the ACLU of Nevada back to Black Rock City to act as legal observers. We are again teaming up with Lawyers for Burners to protect the rights of the citizens of and distribute “Know Your Rights” cards with information on constitutional rights and what individuals should do if they are stopped, questioned, or searched by the police.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Metro) recently entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Under the agreement, 287(g), Metro screens everyone booked into the Clark County Detention Center (CCDC) to determine their immigration status, and then can refer potential violators of federal administrative or criminal immigration regulations and laws to ICE.

On Monday, the Nevada Supreme Court issued a ruling suggesting that it shares the ACLU of Nevada’s concerns about the constitutionality of a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department policy, the “"Downtown Area of Command Strategic Initiative.” Under the Downtown Initiative, people who have criminal records are arrested for minor infractions, while all others are just cited or ticketed. Although the order did not rule on the Downtown Initiative directly, it described the initiative as questionable.