Democrats denounce ICE operations in Northern Nevada amid statewide immigration crackdown

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. Photo by: Alex Brandon / AP

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has established a “temporary command center” near the Nevada Legislature in Carson City, state Democrats and Nevada Immigrant Coalition advocates said Thursday.

“That is not a coincidence. That is intimidation, plain and simple,” said Noé Orosco, government affairs manager for Make the Road Nevada, at a news conference. He described the outpost as “a strategy meant to silence, discourage and make people think twice before they can speak out or stand up.”

Immigration officials did not immediately respond to a Las Vegas Sun inquiry about the command center. 

The uptick in enforcement is part of President Donald Trump’s vision to remove millions of undocumented residents from the nation.

Orosco demanded officials disclose how many people have been detained in Nevada, whether anyone’s due process rights were violated and how they plan to deal with the trauma created by increased immigration enforcement. At least 30 undocumented residents in Northern Nevada who reportedly  had a previous criminal record were detained this week, reported KRNV, a television station in Carson City.

Assemblymember Duy Nguyen, D-Las Vegas, standing with a group of fellow Las Vegas Democrats in front of the legislature, said parents in the community are scared to drop their kids off at school while older people refuse to go to the doctor.

Max Carter II, D-Las Vegas, echoed that chronic school absenteeism has increased in his eastside district, which is over 40% Latino. But that fear isn’t just in the Latino community. 

“Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families also have been picked up. Our neighbors, our classmates, our coworkers — simply gone,” Nguyen said. “And for what? For living their lives?”

The enforcement activity across the state “is not business as usual,” said Assemblymember Cecilia González, a Las Vegas Democrat and chair of the Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus.

While she touted some bills under consideration in the legislature that could be a lifeline for the immigrant community, González said the last few months have been about more than just immigration policy but “about power and fear being weaponized” against people in Nevada. 

“Let me be clear: We will not be silent,” said González, whose parents are immigrants. “Not today. Not ever.”

ACLU Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah said Gov. Joe Lombardo must come out and support Nevada’s immigrant population, noting that they pay hundreds of millions of dollars a year in taxes. 

“For any government institution in Nevada that decides that they’re going to cooperate with ICE in these investigations in violation of the law, expect to hear from us,” Haseebullah said. “If you are hiding those records, we will find them. We will bring legal actions against you.”