The Real Story Behind the Las Vegas “Sanctuary City” Drama
Yesterday, something interesting happened. The Department of Homeland Security put Las Vegas on their list of sanctuary cities. Both Mayor Shelley Berkley and Governor Lombardo rushed to say this was wrong. They insisted Las Vegas isn’t a sanctuary city and follows federal law.
Here’s the funny part nobody’s talking about.
The City of Las Vegas has city marshals and a small detention center, but they handle minor municipal violations – not the kind of serious crimes that would typically involve ICE.
So when DHS says the city is obstructing immigration enforcement, they’re basically complaining about a municipal jail that processes parking tickets and noise violations. It’s like criticizing the DMV for not doing border patrol.
But here’s where it gets complicated. Dr. Robin Titus, our Senate Republican Leader, jumped on social media to praise the 287(g) program. She wants all Nevada law enforcement to join this federal partnership. She says it will make us safer.
As your Senate Republican Leader & a proud Nevadan, I am dedicated to ensuring our communities are safe havens for our families, businesses, & future generations. Married to a retired Lyon County Sheriff, I’ve witnessed the sacrifices our law enforcement officers make every day.… https://t.co/405cCibboR
— Dr. Robin Titus (@drrobintitus) May 30, 2025
I disagree. And as someone who cares about taxpayer money and officer safety, let me tell you why.
What Is This 287(g) Thing Really About?
Dr. Titus talks about three different models of 287(g). But she’s not telling you the whole story. The jail model she mentions? That’s actually the least controversial part. That just means checking immigration status after someone gets arrested.
The real problem is the task force model. This is where local cops become immigration agents on the street. They can stop you during a traffic stop and ask about your immigration status. They can arrest you for immigration violations during routine police work. They become ICE agents in uniform.
President Trump just brought this back in February after Obama killed it in 2012. Why did Obama end it? Because it was a disaster that cost taxpayers millions and got cops sued for racial profiling.
The Money Problem Nobody Talks About
The task force model costs local taxpayers huge money. ICE might pay for training, but we pay for everything else. And when things go wrong, we pay the legal bills too.
The numbers are scary.
In Arizona, Maricopa County paid $43 million in litigation fees before ICE even ended their task force partnership in 2009, according to reports from the Tucson Sentinel. Then a federal court found they engaged in racial profiling. The total cost to taxpayers? Expected to hit $314 million this year.
That’s not a typo. Three hundred and fourteen million dollars because one county (comparable to Clark County) got too aggressive with immigration enforcement.
Other counties learned the hard way too. Harris County, Texas dropped their 287(g) agreement and saved $675,000 per year, as reported by America’s Voice. In Virginia, Prince William County spent $6.4 million in the first year alone, according to the Niskanen Center. They had to raise property taxes and dip into emergency funds.
North Carolina counties spent millions. Mecklenburg County paid $5.3 million and Alamance County spent $4.8 million. Then the Department of Justice investigated Alamance County and found they were racially profiling Latinos. ICE terminated their agreement. They never got back in.
The Officer Safety Problem
Dr. Titus talks about supporting law enforcement. But does the task force model really keep officers safer? The research says no.
A study by the Cato Institute examined 287(g) programs across North Carolina counties. The results were alarming. The study found:
“no causal relationship between apprehensions through the 287(g) program and measures of crime rates.”
But here’s the kicker:
“The only statistically significant relationship that we did find was an increase in the average number of assaults against police officers.”
Think about that. The 287(g) program didn’t reduce crime. But it did increase attacks on cops.
The Cato researchers noted:
“We do not know why 287(g) is causally related to the increase in assaults against police officers… but police officers in North Carolina also appear to be victims of this program that fails to reduce crime.”
The Racial Profiling Problem
Let’s be honest about what happens with the task force model. Officers get told to look for immigration violations during routine stops. But immigration violations don’t have a face. So officers start making assumptions based on race and ethnicity.
The Department of Justice investigated this.
In Alamance County, North Carolina, they found Latino drivers were up to 10 times more likely to be stopped than non-Latino drivers, according to the American Immigration Council. Deputies set up checkpoints at entrances to Latino neighborhoods. Latinos got arrested for traffic violations that got other drivers just tickets.
In Frederick County, Maryland, researchers from the Center for Migration Studies compared the sheriff’s office (which has 287(g) powers) to the local police department (which doesn’t). The sheriff’s office arrested significantly more Hispanics. Same community, different enforcement patterns.
This isn’t about being tough on crime. This is about local taxpayers paying millions when federal courts find constitutional violations.
Nevada’s Smart Approach – We’ve Been Here Before
Here’s something Dr. Titus doesn’t mention. Governor Lombardo knows exactly what the 287(g) program costs and why it’s problematic. When he was Clark County Sheriff, he ran the program for years. Then in 2019, he ended it.
Sheriff Lombardo suspended Metro’s 287(g) agreement after a federal court ruled that ICE detainers violated the Fourth Amendment.
He said at the time:
“While the ruling can be seen as a setback, I am determined that through cooperation with our federal partners the goal of removing the worst of the worst can still be accomplished.”
The program had become controversial even before the court ruling. Immigration advocates filed open records requests demanding transparency about who was being detained and why. They found problems with the program, including cases where people were put into deportation proceedings for minor offenses like selling souvenirs on the Las Vegas Strip.
Now we have Sheriff Kevin McMahill, who was democratically elected to make these decisions for Clark County taxpayers. McMahill has been clear: he’s repeatedly turned down federal requests to use Metro officers for immigration enforcement beyond their limited jail role.
“And I just won’t do that,” McMahill told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I’ve got a lot going on when it comes to crime here.” He added that his department doesn’t have the resources for immigration enforcement.
McMahill is exactly the kind of locally elected official conservatives should support. He’s focused on local priorities, manages taxpayer resources responsibly, and has overseen continued decreases in crime over the past three years. He’s made clear there are no plans for Metro to enter formal 287(g) agreements unless federal law requires it.
The Bottom Line
The task force model isn’t just about immigration enforcement. It’s about turning local cops into federal agents and putting taxpayers on the hook for massive legal bills when things go wrong.
Dr. Titus is right that we should support law enforcement. But supporting law enforcement means not setting them up for failure with programs that generate federal investigations, nine-figure lawsuits, and increased attacks on officers.
Nevada’s limited involvement in the task force model isn’t disappointing. It’s smart government in action.
We can support tough immigration enforcement without bankrupting our counties or turning our local police into federal immigration agents. The choice is ours.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct information about the City of Las Vegas law enforcement structure. The city does operate city marshals and a municipal detention facility
