This interview originally aired on “Marketplace Morning Report” on Sept. 24. Listen to the “Marketplace Morning Report” each weekday at 3pm on KNPR.
It's time once again for us to take the “Marketplace Economic Pulse,” the series where we get views on this economy from a range of perspectives. But the pulse is going to look a little different from now on.
Going forward, “Marketplace Morning Report” host Kimberly Adams will speak with reporters from local public media outlets and radio stations across the country to learn about the biggest economic stories in their communities.
The first guest is Yvette Fernandez, a reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau and Nevada Public Radio. She has reported on immigration crackdowns, tourism slumps, and the politics of data centers — and what all that means for the Nevada economy.
The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Kimberly Adams: You recently wrote a story about how many of the hospitality workers in Vegas are at risk of losing their temporary protected status. Some have already lost it. What's going on there?
Yvette Fernandez: Well, revoking TPS, or Temporary Protected Status, is part of the administration's enhanced immigration enforcement efforts. The Trump administration has already ended TPS for about a dozen countries, everything from Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Syria, Yemen, and others. And the Culinary Union held a news conference just before the TPS status for people from El Salvador was going to stop on September 9th. The union spokesperson called it an emergency. Nevada is home to close to 6,000 TPS recipients, and the Culinary Union is made up of members from over 170 countries, and 60% of their members are immigrants. So, it's significant.
But here's what also happened: shortly after that deadline passed, the Trump administration suddenly put this decision on hold, saying that TPS for people from El Salvador would remain in effect. But it's not known if this is permanent or temporary, or even when a new announcement is going to be made.
Adams: How much would you say the loss of those workers, if this actually all goes through, would impact Vegas and the wider Nevada economy?
Fernandez: Well, for an individual, it can just cause a lot of turmoil. You know, one day you have a job that helps you sustain your home and your family, and the next, well, that's all in jeopardy. And then that has a ripple effect because so many immigrants fill service jobs. It's also affecting construction, for example. Construction is a big deal in this area, especially because there's a shortage of housing. So, several different industries can be affected by this.
Adams: The last time we spoke, we talked about the Latin entertainment industry and how that's been affected by immigration enforcement. It's particularly important during September. Can you tell us what's going on there and give us an update?
Fernandez: Well, yes, September is typically a huge draw for Fiestas Patrias, which basically celebrates Mexican independence. It's kind of like the Fourth of July. And so typically, you'll see many Latin artists perform during this month.
Last year, part of the administration's enhanced enforcement efforts meant denying or revoking visas for these performers. There were also a few who had been scheduled to headline music festivals, from the Napa Festival in California to the Michelada Fest in Chicago and others. And the Michelada Fest had to be canceled, and canceling festivals like this has a trickle-down effect on local vendors and the community as a whole.
While we don't have the numbers for this September, I can only tell you what I've seen — which is significantly more Latino shows this year than last year. We see big stars like Alejandro Fernández. And for the first time, a Latino artist headlined the Sphere — that was Carín León. But overall, while many of these issues that are impacting the local economy are increasing, we're also seeing is resiliency and adaptability.
Adams: Tourism from Canada and Mexico has been down in Vegas, and those are the two largest groups that visit the city. How has that been affecting the economy?
Fernandez: Well, let me just share some numbers, some data with you. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Association, the LVCBA, the latest data shows a decline and then a slight recovery trend.
So, if we compare the numbers for each July of the past three years, in 2024 there were 3.5 million visitors in July. In July of 2025, the number declined to 3 million. And then this July, the data shows that there's been about a 2.5% increase in visitation. And I know that those are a lot of numbers that are provided. But the bottom line is, visitation does remain lower than in previous years, and there are a number of factors, from tariffs to increased tensions between the countries to the immigration enforcement. A complicating factor is the increased cost of visas — tourist visas, visitors’ visas. They increased from $185 to $435. So, all those do add up.
And the city is responding with some targeted marketing. They're reaching out to those tourist groups, and some casinos have also tried to be creative. Circa, for example, sponsored Canadian-specific events, which included the benefit of using Canadian dollars at a more advantageous exchange rate. And Circa said that these events were successful.
And then one more thing, Kimberly, is on the domestic side. Another significant group are California visitors, which make up nearly 30% of the overall visitor count. And a complicating factor for them is the high cost of fuel in California — which is also high in Nevada, because it gets most of its fuel from California. So, we got a lot of factors.
Adams: I want to switch to a different topic and ask you about some of your other recent reporting on data centers. You wrote about an executive order that was signed by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. Can you tell us a bit about that?
Fernandez: Right. Well, we know that data centers have been a lightning rod issue across the country. And Governor Lombardo is now joining many of his peers and basically establishing new guardrails for data centers. But one aspect of his executive order calls for data centers to contribute to the state's education fund. We know that per-pupil spending in Nevada is among the lowest in the country. So, we'll see what happens there.
Adams: How much are data centers and their impact coming up in conversations around the midterm elections where you are?
Fernandez: They are becoming quite significant, quite prominent. And we're starting to see candidates also using that as a lightning rod issue in their campaigns. One accusing the other of what they are or are not doing, or that they have taken money from them, or that they're simply not doing enough to help and to really represent the people's perspective and address some of the concerns of communities, like water use and electrical use.
