While national debates rage over immigration policy, few Americans feel the impact as directly as Nevadans. 

In a state where tourism, hospitality, agriculture and construction are lifelines of the economy, the cost of our broken immigration system will degrade our productivity and reduce taxable revenue. Outdated policies that prioritize detention and deportation over due process and judicial reform are not only morally troubling, they’re also economically damaging. Nevada's economy is being drained by federal mismanagement of immigration, and unless changes are made, hardworking families and local businesses across the state will continue to suffer.

Let’s start with the financial toll. The U.S. government spends more than $3 billion each year detaining undocumented immigrants, much of it paid to private prison companies such as CoreCivic and GEO Group. These funds are also used to transport detainees across state lines sometimes across the country to crowded, for-profit detention centers. 

Nevada is part of that system. These centers often house individuals for months, even years, before their cases are heard. Worse yet, many detained immigrants are denied basic due process rights, including access to timely hearings and legal counsel. It’s a bureaucratic nightmare that forces taxpayers including those in Nevada to subsidize an ineffective and inhumane system.

But the cost isn’t just measured in federal spending. Nevada’s economy depends heavily on immigrant labor. More than 30 percent of workers in Nevada’s construction industry are immigrants. In sectors such as agriculture and hospitality, that number is even higher. 

When federal raids or deportation policies remove workers en masse, job sites stall, crops go unharvested, and resorts, restaurants and casinos struggle to operate at full capacity. 

This isn’t a hypothetical problem, it’s already happening. Labor shortages are pushing up wages in some sectors, which might sound good on paper, but are ultimately passed on to consumers through higher costs, especially in a tourism-dependent economy such as Nevada's.

The ripple effects are serious. Fewer workers mean slower economic growth, less tax revenue and fewer services for Nevadans. It also threatens the livelihood of small-business owners, especially those in Las Vegas, Reno and rural farming communities, which depend on a reliable workforce to keep their doors open.

And yet, despite spending billions on enforcement and detention, the U.S. still underfunds its immigration courts. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, there were more than 2.2 million pending immigration cases in 2023, which is why the number of judges was increased to 649 at that time. 

Today, there are more than 3 million immigration cases pending nationwide and the number of immigration judges has not changed. Hiring 1,000 more judges and support staff would cost approximately $1.27 billion annually, a fraction of what is spent detaining people. 

This investment would directly reduce the backlog, minimize unnecessary detentions, and ensure that those who have legitimate asylum claims can have them heard quickly and fairly. For Nevadans, this would mean fewer families torn apart, less economic disruption and more stable communities.

Nevada cannot afford to bear the burden of failed immigration policy any longer. Our state thrives on the contributions of immigrant workers and the industries they support. 

Continuing to invest in detention and deportation while neglecting the courts that could resolve immigration cases efficiently is not just unjust, it’s fiscally reckless. It’s time for a smarter approach that protects due process, reduces waste, and supports the economic health of Nevada and its people.

Editor’s note: The author used artificial intelligence to help check the accuracy, spelling and grammar of this piece. 

Farrell Vaughn is a Reno resident and retired social studies teacher.

The Nevada Independent welcomes informed, cogent rebuttals to opinion pieces such as this. They can be submitted here.