Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo pledges to help Trump’s deportation plan

Lombardo was one of 26 Republican governors to vow support for President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan, a reversal from just two days prior, when Lombardo said it was “too soon” to gauge to the extent the Silver State would assist in Trump’s agenda.

Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday announced his support for President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to carry out the largest deportation operation in decades — a plan that could rip families apart and which economists have warned could stress the state’s economy — and pledged to use resources like the Nevada National Guard to do so. 

The Republican Governors Association, a collective consisting of the 26 state Republican executives currently in office, said in a joint statement they “stand united” in supporting Trump’s plan to address the “illegal immigration crisis and [deport] illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security.” 

“Republican governors remain fully committed to supporting the Trump Administration’s efforts to deport dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists who are in this country illegally,” the statement continued. “We understand the direct threat these criminal illegal immigrants pose to public safety and our national security, and we will do everything in our power to assist in removing them from our communities.” 

The statement concludes with the governors stating “we stand ready to utilize every tool at our disposal — whether through state law enforcement or the National Guard — to support Trump in his vital mission.” 

The governors also made no mention of migrants currently receiving temporary protected status, enrolled in federal programs like DACA, or other potential legal gray areas — a swath that includes the majority of unauthorized immigrants residing in the US, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. 

The statement also did not specify whether the governors believe all undocumented immigrants residing in the US pose a threat, or whether they would only help the Trump administration go after individuals believed to be a criminal or terror threat. 

Approximately 168,000 undocumented immigrants are thought to live in Nevada, and an estimated 11 million across the country. 

A spokesperson for Lombardo’s office did not answer an inquiry from The Nevadan to elaborate the governor’s stance beyond what was stated in the joint statement.

But Lombardo at a news conference just two days before Wednesday’s joint statement was less clear to what extent the state’s involvement would be. Speaking to reporters at the Western Governors Association’s annual winter meetings on Monday, Lombardo said it was “too soon to opine” on Trump’s immigration agenda. 

Lombardo also would not commit then to using the state’s National Guard to help Trump, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which in the past has supported efforts by states like Texas to act without the federal government to stymy unauthorized border crossings. While running for governor in 2022, Lombardo said during a Republican primary debate that, if elected, he would not deploy Nevada’s National Guard to help carry out deportations. 

“There’s a finite amount of money associated with the deployment of their local state guard,” Lombardo said during a May 25, 2022, debate.  “If you deploy them to the border, that money would dry up quickly, and it would prevent them from responding to any crisis associated within the borders of our state.”

Once the news of Lombardo’s support for Trump’s plan broke, Nevada Democrats and immigration advocates across the state signaled their disappointment in the governor. 

“Donald Trump’s deportation plan will cause irreparable harm to all Nevadans, regardless of immigration status,” said Erika Castro, spokesperson for the Nevada Immigrant Coalition. “Despute the letter’s claim to target ‘dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists,’ to keep us safe, Nevadans will instead see an increase in racial profiling and targeting due to the hateful rhetoric against immigrants and children of immigrants. 

Castro continued: “Lombardo aligning with the incoming administration on mass deportations will destroy Nevada’s communities and economy when we should instead be focusing on issues like the rising cost of rent. We urge him to think critically and use our tax dollars to benefit Nevadans not tear their families apart.” 

Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada called the letter “disgusting” and vowed “this is a fight that is far from over.” 

“In Nevada, mass deportation efforts would wreck our economy, especially with our limited tax base, lead to increased tensions with local police and probably more crime, and undermine constitutional privacy protections,” Haseebullah said. “The Nevada Constitution protects every Nevadan regardless of their status and that’s what Lombardo should be focused on.” 

Castro and Haseebullah are correct in that undocumented immigrants account for a major source of tax revenue for state and national economies, according to the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy. A report released by the group in July found that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $97 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 — of which more than $500 million was generated in Nevada. 

Last week, the Nevada Economic Forum — a panel of five private-sector economists who convene semi-annually to forecast the state’s tax revenue — projected that lawmakers would have roughly $12.4 bullion to construct the state’s general fund over the coming biennium. 

But analysts during that same meeting noted more than 22% of the state’s workforce is foreign-born and testified that a mass deportation could cause a worker shortage in migrant-dependent markets like Las Vegas and Reno. A rapid mass deportation operation could cause a labor shortage akin to the one experienced in Nevada during the COVID-19 pandemic, one UNLV professor told The Nevadan in August. 

Tai Sims, a spokesperson for the Nevada State Democratic Party, told The Nevadan on Thursday that Trump’s “reckless” plan could upend everyday life for thousands in the Silver State. 

“Instead of supporting bipartisan efforts for stronger border security and comprehensive immigration reform, Lombardo is embracing Trump’s reckless push for a mass deportation that will harm Nevada’s economy, increase costs for our working families, tear families and children apart, and do nothing to actually make us safer.”