Immigrants' Rights

Tuesday brought a plot twist to the Nevada State Legislature and Gov. Joe Lombardo’s sweeping crime bill, with the introduction of an amendment adding provisions that would protect students from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a brand new bill whose language mirrors two key components of the crime bill.

The Nevada Senate voted after midnight Wednesday to approve AB4, Gov. Lombardo’s crime bill, creating regressive, data-averse policies and allowing for the reestablishment of the “Casino Company Court” that previously targeted people experiencing homelessness for criminal prosecution

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 5 would order a legislative study on immigration enforcement operations in the state. It is not expected to be heard or passed, and behind the scenes became a flashpoint for advocates and lawmakers who wanted to see more done to safeguard immigrant families in the wake of large-scale immigration sweeps.

We filed a class action lawsuit, in collaboration with the ACLU and the UNLV Immigration Clinic, against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), challenging a new federal policy that unlawfully denied immigrants their right to a bond hearing. For decades, people who were living in the U.S. and later detained by immigration authorities were entitled to a bond hearing under federal law. The DHS has now reversed this precedent by reclassifying these longtime residents as “applicants for admission,” thereby stripping them of their right to ask a judge for release. Now, under this new policy, anyone who entered the United States without inspection is detained while their immigration case moves forward without the opportunity for a bond hearing, also known as a custody redetermination hearing. This is a direct attack on due process. People who have lived in Nevada for years are now being held for prolonged periods of time in civil detention facilities without knowing when, or if, they’ll ever see a judge. Our class action seeks to reaffirm the right to a bond hearing for immigrants arrested inside of the United States and prevent them from being unlawfully detained without the possibility of release and in violation of their due process rights.

We filed a lawsuit challenging the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) 287(g) agreement with ICE. That agreement allows ICE to use local law enforcement to assist in carrying out its federal immigration enforcement agenda.

We’re suing the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for violating Nevada’s public records laws by refusing to release records related to their communications with ICE.

We are suing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to get public records about the full extent of its involvement with federal immigration enforcement.