How Nevada Became — and Stopped Being — a Sanctuary State

Nevada is not a sanctuary state. The U.S. Department of Justice briefly listed it as one on August 5, 2025, but removed Nevada from the federal sanctuary jurisdictions list on September 26, 2025, after Republican Governor Joe Lombardo signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing the state to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.¹ Nevada has no statute declaring itself a sanctuary jurisdiction, and it was the first state removed from the federal list after its publication.²

That short answer hides a messier picture. Different parts of state and local government in Nevada take different approaches to immigration enforcement, a lawsuit over one of the key cooperation agreements is still pending before the Nevada Supreme Court, and the legislature has been actively debating bills that would limit ICE’s access to schools and detention records. Here’s where things actually stand.

Why the DOJ Called Nevada a Sanctuary State

President Trump signed Executive Order 14287 on April 28, 2025, directing the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to publish a list of state and local jurisdictions whose policies obstruct federal immigration enforcement.³ On August 5, the DOJ published its initial list naming twelve states, including Nevada.⁴

The DOJ never published a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction explanation, and the inclusion surprised officials in both parties.⁵ When the DOJ later pointed to specific triggers, it cited two things:

The first was a set of “Model Immigration Policies” released on February 24, 2025 by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford. The legislature had required those policies in 2021 through AB 376, which directed the attorney general to draft nonbinding model guidelines limiting local participation in federal immigration enforcement “to the fullest legal extent possible.” The 72-page document distinguished judicial criminal warrants from civil immigration detainers and advised state agencies they were not legally obligated to honor the latter. It also cited a 1911 Nevada law barring peace officers from making arrests in “non-criminal matters” and concluded that alleged unlawful presence “is not basis for a Nevada law enforcement agency to arrest or detain the person, even if requested to do so by a federal agency.”⁶ The policies are nonbinding recommendations, not state law.

The second was the Governor’s Office for New Americans, created under former Governor Steve Sisolak to help immigrants with integration and language services.⁵

How Nevada Got Off the List

By the time the sanctuary list was published, Lombardo, a former Clark County sheriff, had already been moving the state toward tighter cooperation with federal immigration authorities. A timeline his office submitted to the DOJ documented actions stretching back to 2023.⁷ Those actions included:

Overhauling the Office for New Americans in September 2023, terminating partnerships with Make the Road and the UndocuNetwork at UNLV and ending legal referrals for DACA, Temporary Protected Status, and Legal Permanent Residency applicants.⁷
Directing the Nevada Department of Corrections to screen all new offenders for citizenship status and share information with ICE, raising the rate of transfers on ICE detainers from under 20 percent to 100 percent.⁷
Working with the Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association in March 2025 on alternative immigration guidelines supporting federal enforcement, after publicly objecting to Ford’s model policies.⁷
Vetoing Assembly Bill 217 on June 5, 2025, which would have barred school employees from granting immigration officers access to school grounds or student records without a warrant.⁷
Authorizing up to 35 Nevada National Guard volunteers in August 2025 to provide administrative support (clerical, logistical, records) for DHS immigration operations, with no direct detainee contact and no law enforcement role.⁸
Approving roughly $895,890 in FEMA Urban Areas Security Initiative funds for LVMPD intelligence-sharing with federal partners and about $430,000 in State Homeland Security Grant funds for a Washoe County Jail remodel to include a screening desk, secure holding area, and office space for ICE.⁷

The MOU signed on September 26, 2025 formalized all of this and added forward-looking commitments: continue using the National Guard for administrative immigration support, keep directing FEMA funds toward ICE partnerships, and take “lawful steps to counter-balance” any future actions by the attorney general or state legislature to enact what the agreement called “unlawful sanctuary policies.”⁹ The DOJ reserved the right to continue monitoring the state and flag additional policies it views as obstructive.²

Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the agreement a model for other jurisdictions: “Come to the table and work with us instead of going to court.”¹ Lombardo said the agreement “reaffirms our commitment to following federal immigration law in Nevada.”⁹

What ICE Cooperation Actually Looks Like in Nevada Now

The label is one thing; practice is another. In Nevada today, state agencies and the largest local law enforcement body in the state are actively working with ICE:

287(g) at Clark County Detention Center. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department rejoined the federal 287(g) program on June 4, 2025. Trained corrections officers at the Clark County Detention Center can issue civil immigration warrants and hold individuals for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release so ICE can take custody.¹⁰ By early 2026, LVMPD reported that 25 trained corrections officers had served 372 detainers on foreign-born inmates, with 315 resulting in a federal pickup.¹¹

State prisons. The Nevada Department of Corrections screens every new offender for citizenship status and transfers 100 percent of those with ICE detainers to federal custody.⁷

Washoe County Jail. A remodel funded by roughly $430,000 in State Homeland Security Grant money would reconfigure the detention release corridor and add a confidential interview room for ICE. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office says the project is not an expansion of detainee capacity and was still awaiting federal and local approval before construction could begin as of early 2026.¹²

Nevada National Guard. Up to 35 volunteers provide clerical and logistical support to DHS immigration operations under the governor’s August 2025 authorization.⁸

Attorney General Ford, whose office drafted the nonbinding model policies cited by the DOJ, has emphasized that he has “never supported sanctuary for criminals” and said: “If you’re convicted of a violent crime and you’re a threat to our community, you should be held fully accountable — and yes, that can mean deportation.” In May 2025, Ford joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging conditions the Trump administration placed on federal funding tied to immigration enforcement.¹³

The Open Legal Question

Whether LVMPD’s 287(g) agreement is actually lawful under state law is unresolved. On October 13, 2025, the ACLU of Nevada sued to block it, arguing that Nevada is a “Dillon’s Rule” state in which local agencies can exercise only those powers the legislature has explicitly granted, and that the legislature never authorized local law enforcement to enter into immigration enforcement agreements with the federal government. The suit also argued that Nevada law allows county jails to house federal prisoners only if the federal government covers the actual costs, and that the 287(g) arrangement shifts costs onto local taxpayers.¹⁰

On March 6, 2026, Judge Monica Trujillo of the Eighth Judicial District Court dismissed the case as moot because the ACLU’s named client had been deported during the proceedings. The court acknowledged organizational standing but declined to reach the merits.¹⁴ The ACLU filed a notice of appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court on April 8, 2026, and that appeal was pending as of early 2026, with no court having yet ruled on whether the 287(g) agreement is lawful under Nevada law.¹⁵

Pending Legislation That Could Change the Picture

Several bills in the Nevada Legislature have aimed at restricting ICE cooperation at specific sites:

AB 217, which would have codified existing Clark and Washoe County school district policies statewide by barring school employees from granting ICE access to schools or student records without a warrant, passed committee during the 2025 regular session but was vetoed by Lombardo.⁷ AB 460, which would allow parents to nominate a temporary guardian for their children in case of immigration-related family separation, passed committee unanimously.¹⁶

During a November 2025 special session, the state Senate passed Assembly Bill 4 by a 16-2 vote. The broader crime bill was amended to prohibit school districts from granting ICE access to school grounds or records without a lawful order and to require detention centers to maintain publicly available real-time lists of detained individuals.¹⁷

Under the terms of the MOU, Nevada has committed to taking “lawful steps to counter-balance” future state legislation the DOJ views as sanctuary policy, so any new restriction on ICE cooperation that becomes law could reopen the question of Nevada’s status on the federal list.⁹

Why This Fight Matters in Nevada

The stakes are especially high in Nevada because of how much of the state’s population and workforce the policy touches. Pew Research Center data put Nevada at the highest percentage of undocumented residents in its total population as of 2023, with 10 percent of all households including an undocumented member.¹⁸ An estimated 199,000 undocumented immigrants lived in Nevada, with roughly 69 percent of working-age residents employed, concentrated in accommodations, food service, and construction.¹⁹ About a third of that population lives with at least one U.S.-citizen child under 18, and 12 percent of all K-12 students in Nevada have an undocumented parent.

So the answer to whether Nevada is a sanctuary state is no, both by the state’s own self-description and by the federal government’s current classification. But cooperation levels vary by agency, one of the key cooperation agreements faces a pending Nevada Supreme Court challenge, and the legislature keeps testing where the line should fall.

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Announces Memorandum of Understanding With Nevada to Collaborate on Immigration
2
Nevada Current. Nevada First State To Be Removed From List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions
3
The White House. Protecting American Communities From Criminal Aliens
4
U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Publishes List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions
5
The Nevada Independent. Entire State of Nevada Lands on Federal Sanctuary List, Though Reason Why Is Unclear
6
The Nevada Independent. How Nevada’s Attempt to Clarify Immigration Enforcement Rules Turned Political
7
State of Nevada. Nevada Memorandum of Understanding
8
Nevada National Guard. Governor Lombardo Authorizes Use of Nevada National Guard to Support U.S. Department of Homeland Security
9
The Nevada Independent. Nevada, DOJ Sign Immigration Enforcement Memo That Will Take State Off Sanctuary List
10
Nevada Current. Metro’s Cooperation With ICE Violates State Law, Says ACLU of Nevada Lawsuit
11
Fox 5 Vegas. ACLU Appeals LVMPD Lawsuit Over ICE Agreement to Nevada Supreme Court
12
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. HSGP Project FAQs
13
The Nevada Independent. After Sanctuary Label, Lombardo Makes Case to DOJ That Nevada Aligns With Trump Agenda
14
ACLU of Nevada. Court Calls ACLU of Nevada’s 287(g) Challenge Moot in New Ruling
15
ACLU of Nevada. ACLU of Nevada Files Notice of Appeal to Continue Challenge of LVMPD 287(g) Agreement With ICE
16
Nevada Current. Pair of Legislative Proposals Push Back Against Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Offensive
17
ACLU of Nevada. Nevada State Senate Passes Crime Bill After Adding Immigration-Focused Amendment
18
The Nevada Independent. Undocumented Count in U.S. Surged in 2023; Nevada Had Second-Highest Population Share
19
Migration Policy Institute. Profile of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population: Nevada