The Trump Administration’s promise of mass deportations is striking fear into the lives of many Nevadans, including those with or without legal status.
A Pew Research study in 2016 showed Nevada’s estimated 210,000 undocumented workers represented 7% of the population, higher than any other state.
The administration has promised only to target "criminals or those with criminal backgrounds," though it has also stated entering the country alone is a crime. There’s wide mistrust within the immigrant community.
There are many questions about what rights people have when federal immigration officials come knocking on their door, or if they are pulled over for a speeding ticket, is that the kind of violation that could get them deported? Will police report that to immigration agents?
Las Vegas police recently updated its Immigration and Customs Enforcement notification policy in response to the Laken Riley Act. The original policy stated the Detention Services Division would alert ICE at the time of booking and release of any foreign-born individual who is arrested and charged with a violent felony, domestic violence and/or DUI.
The updated policy includes charges of burglary, theft, larceny, petit larceny and/or assaulting a law enforcement officer, some of which are misdemeanors.
Guests: Giovanni Alonso, directing attorney, Immigration Advocacy Project at Legal Aid of Southern Nevada; Bliss Requa-Trautz, executive director, Arriba Las Vegas Worker Center
