Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo once said that if it weren’t for his relationship with President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be “walking down Las Vegas Boulevard” — suggesting his personal relationship with Trump prevents rampant immigration raids in the Silver State.
His Democratic opponent Aaron Ford disagrees that Lombardo has any leverage at all.
“My suspicion is that if he really gets another term, he will absolutely work with Donald Trump to increase ICE’s presence here,” Ford told The Nevadan.
Nevada has one of the highest populations of undocumented immigrants nationwide, but has avoided large-scale raids seen in California and Minnesota.
ICE’s presence in Nevada, however, has increased throughout the year. Nevada saw record high ICE arrests during the summer. Within a two-week span, 203 people were arrested late June going into early July. This led to a significant jump in detainees with no criminal record.
The federal agency is also looking to expand its footprint in the state, as ICE recently inquired to lease parking spaces Downtown Las Vegas under the notice “surgeparking.” ICE activity has also ticked upward at airports in Reno and Las Vegas, and Customs and Border Protection attended the College of Southern Nevada’s (CSN) career fair on Sept. 23 in an effort to recruit students.
Henderson and Boulder City are also becoming targets for ICE. On Sept. 22, ICE agents shattered a man’s car window and detained him. A week later, ICE sought to train agents at the Eldorado Valley Regional Training Facility, operated by Henderson and Boulder City. The proposal was struck down by the Henderson police chief.
Could the Trump administration retaliate against Nevada?
As Nevadans head into the election, some are wondering if Trump could retaliate against states if voters overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. Athar Haseebullah, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (ACLU), told The Nevadan he’s heard a “significant amount” of concerns from Democrats and Republicans alike.
“People are concerned about the administration’s actions, all across the country, if Republicans don’t prevail in the election,” Haseebullah argued in an interview with The Nevadan on Oct. 1. “… Anytime anybody seems to anger the president, it’s become increasingly clear that he does not have the mental capacity to engage in sound decision-making.”
Los Angeles was the first city Trump targeted with immigration raids in June last year, followed by Washington D.C., Chicago and Minneapolis — all blue cities.
The escalation in raids caused national public outcry as unarmed American citizens were beginning to be fatally shot by federal officers. Despite the protests, the Trump administration has carried on with its rampant efforts to detain vulnerable individuals.
At Ford’s town hall on Sept. 28, a voter asked “When you take office in January, how will you handle retribution from the Trump administration?”
Along with ICE’s escalated efforts, Trump is amplifying rhetoric ahead of the midterm election in red and blue states alike, including attempts to restrict mail-in ballots, accusing Nevada of allowing thousands of noncitizens to vote — a claim that was proven false — and threatening to send ICE agents to polling stations on Election Day.
As Lombardo touted his relationship with Trump, alluding that it’s their relationship that keeps immigration raids at bay in Nevada, Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett (D-Las Vegas) believes that statement is another intimidation tactic from the GOP.
“I don’t believe that any one person controls what Donald Trump does,” Torres-Fossett told The Nevadan. “We know that he’s consistently made decisions on a whim, sometimes issuing executive orders on X and his other social media platforms that he’s created. So, no, I don’t think it’s the result of any one person or those relationships.”
Despite the reassurance from Democratic leaders, some Nevadans are feeling the pressure to not vote at all this cycle.
CSN student Samuel Urbina told The Nevadan he’s unsure if he wants to vote because of ICE’s escalating efforts. He noted that “it’s too much” and their presence is influencing whether he will vote this election season.
Haseebullah said this is the goal of an authoritarian regime.
“The goal of authoritarianism is to get you to be afraid of your government and to not participate in democracy, in our election system, and eventually to give up the hope in voting,” Haseebullah said in an interview. “That’s what we have seen from a lot of the rhetoric that the administration has engaged in.”
To combat the intimidation tactics, Haseebullah said the ACLU in partnership with Silver State Voices, Institute for a Progressive Nevada and All Voting is Local, are preparing to run the state’s largest electoral program to ensure everyone at the polls can exercise their right to vote.
Efforts to protect voting rights
Observers will be deployed across the state at the start of early voting in Nevada. The observers, on a volunteer basis, will all go through training with the ACLU to prepare for a variety of scenarios they may experience at the polls.
“Whether that means ICE is deployed at a voting site, whether that means there’s a seizure of mail ballots, we’re prepared to litigate those issues and challenge the potential suppression of voting rights anywhere in Nevada,” Haseebullah said.
Haseebullah assured this is a nonpartisan effort and observers will not interfere with a person’s right to vote, and who they choose to vote for.
It’s not a new effort from the ACLU.
Haseebullah told The Nevadan in past years, issues observers helped with were “amicably” resolved with registrars or with the Secretary of State’s Office.
“A lot of that wasn’t because of an intentional issue, or to try to suppress voting rights,” Haseebullah said. “It’s been a technical issue that might have come up. But this election, because the scenarios with respect to federal involvement are so significant all across the country, we’re preparing for these different eventualities.”
These efforts are also to help identify misinformation that could spread across the community, such as false reports related to ICE, which Haseebullah says could create panic and suppress voters even more.
Assemblymember Cecelia González (D-Las Vegas) told The Nevadan “it’s unfortunate that we even have to have this conversation, because that is not how [the] government should work and operate.”
González and Torres-Fossett, who both sit on the Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus, agree that Nevadans should vote for leaders they believe will stand up for them against the Trump administration.
“Our message to families in this, is that you can continue to elect leaders to stand up for you,” González said in an interview. “Electing a blue [candidate] does not make us any less safe.”
If voters feel intimidated to go to the polls, Haseebullah recommends Nevadans vote early and use their mail-in ballots if voters want to avoid a polling station.
How to become an observer
If a Nevadan would like to become a poll observer, Haseebullah recommends they sign up sooner rather than later because of the mandatory training.
“We don’t take untrained observers,” Haseebullah said. “I know there’s people that will want to the day before the election, want to jump in and help. Those good intentions don’t translate to the type of professional option we aspire to run.”
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar is also taking steps to ensure smooth election processes this year.
Aguilar sent letters to Nevada’s federal delegation to request they deploy congressional observers to the US Postal Service locations in Nevada.
“I’m urging our federal delegation to support free and fair elections at every level of the process, including helping ensure that postal workers can scan and mail ballots without disruption,” Aguilar said in a statement. “Mail voting is crucial for Nevadans across rural and urban spaces, and across party lines. Election officials and postal workers are ready to run a safe, secure and accessible election again this year.”
Early voting will run from Oct. 17 to Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3, and Nevada has same-day registration for voters who have yet to register.
