In early June, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department revealed it was entering a formal partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But up until now, it was not entirely clear when Metro applied to the program.

A copy of the agreement that The Nevada Independent obtained via a public records request shows that it was signed by Sheriff Kevin McMahill on May 30 — just one day after Las Vegas was designated on a list of alleged “sanctuary jurisdictions” by President Donald Trump’s administration. An ICE official approved it on June 16, about two weeks later. 

That list, which the Department of Homeland Security has since taken down, was met with pushback from Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who said in a statement that “the City of Las Vegas is not a sanctuary jurisdiction.” 

Two weeks later, the state’s largest police force officially entered into a signed agreement known as 287(g), which allows Metro officers to hold undocumented people in custody for an additional two days so ICE can pick them up for longer-term detention. The agreement requires participating Metro personnel to report all encounters with individuals who assert claims of U.S. citizenship to ICE within one hour of the claim. 

Metro did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the timing of the agreement and whether it was a direct response to the listing. It’s unclear whether sitting out of a 287(g) agreement — which is voluntary — was a reason for the jurisdiction being designated a sanctuary; ICE and Metro have not turned over any correspondence about the listing. 

Although Nevada currently has no state or local laws prohibiting cooperation with federal immigration agents, the “sanctuary” designation could have jeopardized millions of dollars in federal funding as a result of a recent executive order. McMahill previously said that the department risked losing about $30 million in funding for programs and personnel if it is deemed to be noncompliant.

“We hope to have conversations with those at the federal level to clear up this misunderstanding,” City of Las Vegas spokesman David Riggleman previously told The Nevada Independent. 

The application to join 287(g) marked a shift for McMahill, who had previously said that Metro would only enter into such an agreement if the federal government passed a law requiring the agency to do so. Under Metro’s previous policy, it notified ICE of immigrants accused of certain crimes and their release date, giving ICE a chance to take custody of them.

But in a recent interview with Channel 8, shortly after signing the agreement, McMahill said that he did not want undocumented criminals “in my community anymore.”

Sadmira Ramic, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, called the shift a “complete 180 from what [Metro] said before” and that the agreement could erode trust between the public and local law enforcement. She said it was a “fair assumption” that pressure from the Trump administration motivated the law enforcement agency entering the agreement. 

“It is creating panic,” Ramic said in an interview with The Nevada Independent.

Ramic also raised concerns about a clause in the agreement mandating officials to “report all encounters with asserted or suspected claims of U.S. citizenship to ICE immediately.” The broad language, she said, could increase the possibility of U.S. citizens caught up in immigration enforcement activity. 

“The way that I read this is … if they think somehow that this person is not a U.S. citizen, or they have committed an immigration violation, although it’s unclear how that would be determined from this agreement, that they have to call ICE,” Ramic said. 

Although Metro’s agreement follows a standardized template, the obtained documents provide additional insight into how the 287(g) program will work for Metro. Although ICE will provide instructors and training materials, Metro remains responsible for the salaries and benefits — including any overtime — of personnel involved in the 287(g) program. Metro will also cover any local transportation costs.

Here are annotated copies of the agreement: