Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo likened President Donald Trump to his "commanding officer" and said if it wasn't for his relationship with the president, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be more active in Las Vegas, according to audio of him speaking at a recent event obtained by The Nevada Independent. 

"Some people may chastise me … because they know I have a relationship with Donald Trump," Lombardo said in the recording. "But I think it's important to have a relationship with the person in charge … No different than your commanding officer, right? … If there's a stalemate because you're adversarial to your commander, you won't get anything done." 

While he has previously said he has Trump's ear and thinks he could effectively intervene to prevent ICE from descending on Nevada, he took the argument a step further at the event.

"If I didn't have a relationship with Donald Trump, ICE would be walking down Las Vegas Boulevard," Lombardo added. 

The comments, made at a closed-door event for veterans July 2, come as ICE arrests have surged nationwide. The New York Times has reported that the agency made more than 10,000 arrests during a five-day period in June — a jump from the 1,000 picked up each day earlier this year — and that arrests continue to climb, albeit with less fanfare than before. Nationwide, so far, three people have been killed by ICE this month, including a construction worker who was fatally shot in Houston during a traffic stop — the largest public escalation since the shootings in Minnesota. 

"The Governor's point was straightforward: a productive relationship with leaders in Washington has always been centered on what's best for Nevada and ensures our state's priorities are heard," Lombardo's campaign said in a statement provided to The Nevada Independent after this story was published. "He fully supports the administration's work to deport violent criminals and has worked with federal partners to make sure those enforcement actions are targeted, effective, and focused on the people who pose a threat."

Although there are no publicly available numbers on how many arrests have been made in Nevada this summer and the latest data only runs through April, community groups have said anecdotally that they have noted more arrests. Nevadans for the Common Good, a coalition of faith-based groups and nonprofits, told The Indy that is has seen about seven of its members be detained by ICE in the last two weeks, including three who were picked up during a traffic stop. 

Members said they've received an uptick in ICE reports and have talked to more than a hundred families in the past couple of months about what is happening. 

"They have either been impacted because they're living in terror or because they have had a family member who has been detained," Anna Eng, lead organizer for Nevadans for the Common Good, said in an interview. "And then a few weeks ago that shifted and ramped up even more."

And earlier this week, an elderly man was tackled by ICE officers in plain clothes at Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport, as documented in a viral video. The man did not have any outstanding warrants and was later arrested in Los Angeles. 

Several court cases in Nevada also allege that ICE has kept nearly 20 people in detention against court orders over the past couple months — a move that a Nevada judge decried as "governmental lawlessness."

It's not the first time that Lombardo has discussed his relationship with Trump, although his comments in the audio were more definitive about his personal role in preventing escalation. During a March on-stage interview with The Nevada Independent, Lombardo said that he has the ability to ask the federal government not to "come in here and cause havoc." 

But he emphasized during that conversation that he thinks one of the main reasons that ICE has not been as active is the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's partnership with ICE, known as 287(g). He said that he believes the administration acknowledges the "policy and the stance that we've been proactive in the immigrant community." 

The Trump administration rescinded a "sanctuary jurisdiction" label after Lombardo signed a memorandum of understanding with them on immigration enforcement. 

"Without that agreement, they may be here because you're not helping the situation as it's presented," Lombardo said during an IndyTalks in March about 287(g) and ICE's presence in the state. 

It's a statement with hefty political weight ahead of the gubernatorial race this fall. Immigration policy has divided Lombardo and his competitor Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford. 

"Joe Lombardo claims that his relationship with Donald Trump keeps ICE out of Nevada — but when Trump's rogue ICE terrorized this man yesterday, he folded to Trump and stayed silent like always," Ford said in a statement about the arrest at Harry Reid Airport this week.

Updated at 1:23 p.m. on 7/20/2026 with comment from Lombardo.