State bill would allow immigrant parents to designate legal guardians for kids if they’re deported

Assembly Bill 460 would create a legal process that authorizes a parent or guardian to pre-designate another person to act as a child’s primary caretaker in the event they are separated from the child due to a federal immigration order. 

Nevada state lawmakers are considering a new proposal that would allow noncitizens to nominate a legal guardian for minors, a measure that advocates say is designed to protect  vulnerable children amid a surge in deportations under President Donald Trump. 

Assembly Bill 460, introduced Thursday by Assemblymember Cecelia González (D-Las Vegas), would create a legal process that authorizes a parent or guardian to designate another person to act as a child’s primary caretaker in the event they are separated from the child due to a federal immigration order. If signed into law, individuals could pre-file a waiver approving the change in the child’s custody, which would be kept on-file by the Secretary of State’s office to be accessed, if necessary. 

González told The Nevadan during a video interview on Thursday the bill will ensure a child receives legal protections and emotional support when facing separation from a parent. 

“Nevada is the largest mixed-status family per capita in our entire country, and so it’s not a question of if, but rather a question of when,” González said, referring to Trump’s campaign promise to execute the “largest mass deportation” in modern US history. “Every single one of us have undocumented people in our community, and so in our conversations we wanted to find how we could prevent the least amount of harm to these children.” 

The bill also creates a presumption that temporary guardianship is in that child’s best interest and expands support for guardianship services, like financial assistance for trauma recovery services. 

The waiver must be signed by the parent or guardian seeking to appoint new guardianship, as well as two impartial witnesses who have no financial interest in the estate of the minor or parent, and who attest that the parent/guardian has the mental capacity to understand the change of custody. The form must also be notarized. 

Once filed, the form would be kept by the Nevada Lockbox, an electronic registry maintained by the Secretary of State’s office free of charge. According to state law, documents filed to the lockbox can only be accessed via court order, if you are their attorney, guardian, or medical provider, or if the Secretary of State believes it’s otherwise in the dependent’s best interest.

MORE: Trump’s promise of mass deportations could devastate Nevada’s economy. Here’s how.

If a parent is actually removed from the country, the person nominated as the new guardian must then file a court petition before assuming custody of the child. Once approved by a judge, the new temporary guardian would have custody of the child for 10 days, after which up to two 60-day extensions could be granted. After that, the guardian would need to file for permanent guardianship, though the parent will also retain full parental rights if and when they’re able to re-enter the US legally.

The bill also seeks to remove age barriers associated with guardianship to allow a child’s older sibling or other relative to act as their guardian and access the aforementioned resources. 

According to co-sponsor State Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas), constituents had approached his office and others part of the Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus several months ago to begin preparing for such a legal framework in the event mass deportations take place in Nevada. 

“This actually came from the community members, this was a recommendation specifically from them,” Doñate said. So I think there is value in the fact that individuals were coming to us with this solution, and that’s why we’re putting this bill forward.” 

The Migration Policy institute found there are at least 224,000 children in Nevada who have at least one immigrant parent, which represents 34.3% of all Nevada children. As of 2022, the nonpartisan think tank estimated there were roughly 168,000 undocumented immigrants residing in Nevada and roughly 601,000 foreign-born individuals living in the state. More than half that figure are believed to hail from Latin America.

Though lawmakers from both sides of the aisle sitting on the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary signaled they would support the bill, it’s unclear whether Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo would sign it into law. 

But even if it were enacted, González said it will be important to maintain trust with the community and to work with grassroots groups throughout the state, especially at a time when folks will be skeptical of any help from the government in the face of Trump’s deportation campaign. 

“If the government, whether it’s federal, state, local, whatever, is tearing my family apart, what makes you think that I’m going to ask them for help,” González said. “We can’t do this work without our community partners.”