Court to hear arguments in ACLU of Nevada case against DMV over withheld records related to ICE communications, including secretive Signal chats

LAS VEGAS – The First Judicial District Court will hold a hearing Friday in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada challenging the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) failure to comply with state public records law in connection with communications involving federal immigration enforcement.

The hearing follows continued litigation after the ACLU of Nevada sued the DMV for refusing to turn over records related to communications with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After the last court hearing, the DMV admitted it has communicated with ICE and also stunningly admitted to the use of the encrypted messaging platform Signal, which it previously denied using.

At Friday’s hearing, the court is expected to consider multiple outstanding issues, including whether records already submitted by the DMV for private judicial review should be released to the ACLU of Nevada. The court previously ordered the DMV to provide those records to the court unredacted for review after raising concerns about the agency’s initial denial of their existence and subsequent delays in producing them.

The court will also consider arguments raised in the ACLU of Nevada’s recent motion to compel, including whether the DMV must provide more than 100 additional documents it has acknowledged but largely withheld, and whether ACLU of Nevada attorneys should be permitted to question DMV officials under oath regarding the handling of public records requests and the agency’s use of the encrypted messaging platform Signal.

ACLU of Nevada v. Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, Case No. 25 EW 00026 1B will be heard at 10 a.m. Friday in the courtroom of Judge Kristin Luis.
First Judicial District Court, Department II
885 East Musser St., 3rd Floor, Carson City, NV