A day after Las Vegas was placed on a federal list of jurisdictions deemed to be obstructing immigration law, Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington) called on Nevada — the Las Vegas area in particular — to increase collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to crack down on unauthorized immigration.

Titus’ statement, made Friday, calls on law enforcement to enter a voluntary program known as 287(g) — which deputizes local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. Currently, only two counties in Nevada have active 287(g) agreements, but a recent executive order that would withhold federal funding from “sanctuary jurisdictions” — which extend protections to undocumented people — has placed additional pressure on officials to collaborate with ICE.

Her message comes as the legislative session draws to a close, and she acknowledged that she didn’t want to bog down the progress of other major legislation by pushing her 287(g) idea in the final three days. In an interview with The Indy on Saturday, Titus said that immigration enforcement decisions should be left to the federal government, individual jurisdictions and the governor — not the Legislature — but she added that if she didn’t think her statement would make a difference, she wouldn’t have said it. 

She also said that immigration enforcement should be focused on people with criminal records.

“I want to make sure people understand that there is an avenue on the federal level, and I think our state should be cooperating,” Titus said.

Participating in 287(g) agreements is voluntary. Multiple court cases have ruled that forcing states to carry out federal immigration policy goes against the 10th Amendment, which prohibits the federal government from directing state governments to enforce federal laws. States throughout the country, however, including Florida and Virginia, have begun to pass directives mandating or encouraging 287(g) agreements.

So far, the few Republican-led efforts in the Legislature to bolster collaboration between ICE and local law enforcement have failed. SB267, from Sen. John Ellison (R–Elko), which would have mandated that jails report certain undocumented individuals to ICE, died without ever being heard. 

Measures to bolster protections for undocumented individuals, meanwhile, have been more successful in the Democrat-controlled legislature. AB217, sponsored by Assm. Cecelia González (D-Las Vegas), which would curtail school districts’ collaboration with ICE, made it out of both chambers backed by some Republicans such as Assm. Danielle Gallant (R-Las Vegas) and Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks).

Assm. Selena Torres-Fossett (D-Las Vegas), former head of Nevada’s Latino Legislative Caucus, was critical of Titus’ push.

“Sen. Titus should be focused on what we can do to support hardworking Nevada families and not immigration enforcement because that’s not our jobs,” she told The Indy.

Democratic legislators have previously raised concerns about the cost of 287(g) — given that the local government remains responsible for the salaries of officers carrying out immigration enforcement under that agreement — after Douglas County joined the program earlier this year. 

Bolstering immigration enforcement has also proven to be costly to state governments because of increased detention costs and legal fees associated with lawsuits. Maricopa County, Arizona, for example, faced a $1.3 million deficit in 2011 after implementing the program for only three months. 

The federal government, however, does reimburse some of the costs for joining 287(g), such as for training, and some jurisdictions are also eligible for federal payments. The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) reimburses states for the costs of incarcerating an undocumented person convicted of a felony or more than two misdemeanors. In 2024, Nevada received nearly $3 million in SCAAP dollars, according to the Congressional Research Service. 

“The federal government wants us to do that, they are paying for these folks that are in jail, so I think we should cooperate,” Titus said. 

Asked whether labeling Las Vegas a sanctuary city was accurate, Titus said “certainly I think they could do better in Las Vegas” and that “I think there’s some truth in it.”

The term “sanctuary city” has no legal definition, and no jurisdictions in Nevada have described themselves as such. But the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department does not have an active 287(g) agreement and Metro has said the department will not enforce federal immigration laws outside of its jails, even though it does collaborate with ICE, notifying the agency about certain foreign-born individuals who are arrested and charged. 

Metro did not respond to multiple requests for comment earlier this week about the sanctuary city designation. 

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, meanwhile, has rebuffed the Trump administration’s characterization of Las Vegas. His office said in a statement that “Las Vegas is working to quickly resolve this incorrect categorization with the Department of Homeland Security” — an assertion that the City of Las Vegas has reiterated. In a statement to The Indy, city officials said they are having “conversations with those at the federal level to clear up this misunderstanding.”

Lombardo’s office also said in a statement earlier this week that Nevada will “continue to follow federal law and cooperate with federal immigration authorities” under the governor’s leadership. 

287(g) agreements have faced legal hurdles in Nevada before. In 2019, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, under the leadership of then-Sheriff Lombardo, withdrew from its 287(g) agreement after a federal district court ruled that ICE detainers could only be honored in states with laws that specifically address civil immigration arrests.

Although that ruling emerged from a California court, it could still raise legal issues in Nevada, as evidenced by Metro withdrawing from the program, American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada Senior Staff Attorney Sadmira Ramic told The Nevada Independent earlier this year. 

Read the rest of this article, which was shared with Noticiero Móvil, over at The Nevada Independent. This story was reported by Isabella Aldrete and originally published on June 1 2025.