Lombardo Backs Vegas Metro’s Immigration Policy

Governor Joe Lombardo has taken a moment from the rigors of governance to enlighten law enforcement on immigration enforcement.

“My advice to Nevada sheriffs and chiefs is, those sheriffs are autonomous, they’re elected officials, but I would recommend they use a similar policy as Las Vegas Metro,” declared Lombardo, exhibiting a deference to independence while nudging the flock toward his past practices.

Now, the curious reader might inquire, what precisely is that policy?

It appears that Nevada’s law enforcement, including the esteemed Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, has opted not to involve itself with the federal government’s immigration escapades unless the individual in question is both undocumented and of a particularly violent inclination. In such cases, Metro notifies Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the time of booking and release. The federal authorities must then retrieve the individual with a warrant in hand.

However, the efficiency of such arrangements is questionable, as both Lombardo and current LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill have noted that ICE, though duly notified, only collects a fraction of the uninvited guests. Perhaps the agency, like a cat presented with too many mice, is overwhelmed by the abundance.

Lombardo points out the distinction between state law and federal law—a delineation that often proves inconvenient to governance. While under his watch at Metro, the department maintained a partnership with ICE in the jail, which met its demise in 2019 following a court ruling about booking records.

Meanwhile, Democratic Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford has presented guidance, instructing state agencies, courts, and schools to concern themselves primarily with state law and to refrain from performing the federal government’s chores free of charge. These recommendations, however, come with the remarkable condition that they are entirely optional, thus rendering them an elegant exercise in suggestion rather than statute.

“You remove the worst of the worst,” Lombardo remarked of Metro’s approach, an assurance meant to soothe the nerves of the law-abiding citizen.

Yet, he acknowledges that policing, much like any other endeavor, is constrained by means and resources. Being far from the Rio Grande, Nevada does not bear the title of a border state, though Lombardo stands at the ready should President Trump deem it necessary to send the Nevada National Guard southward to lend a hand.

“I totally respect and I support what Donald Trump is trying to do in the immigration space,” the governor stated, leaving no doubt where his sympathies lie.

Should Trump come calling, Lombardo stands prepared to answer—noting that federal efforts in Nevada are sorely lacking in resources and personnel. Lombardo seems particularly resolute on his intention to veto any legislative mischief aimed at curtailing federal immigration enforcement in schools or churches, those bastions of learning and worship that, in the eyes of some, ought to remain untangled from the machinations of border control.

As for the broader efforts of ICE, the Department of Homeland Security proudly proclaimed that in the first 50 days of the administration, nearly 33,000 undocumented individuals found themselves apprehended—three-quarters of whom bore accusations or convictions of crime. However, should one be so bold as to inquire how many such arrests transpired in Nevada, the department, much like a seasoned politician, proves less forthcoming.

And so, the matter of immigration enforcement in Nevada continues, an affair guided by policy, politics, and the occasional gubernatorial pronouncement—each carrying the weight of authority and the flourish of opinion–as is tradition in the great American pastime of governance.