The agreement, known as 287(g), allows Metro officers to hold undocumented people in custody for an additional two days so ICE can pick them up. It also requires participating Metro personnel to report all encounters with individuals who assert claims of U.S. citizenship to ICE.

The demonstrations, part of the 50 protests, 50 states movement known as 50501, have been planned by various progressive organizations for weeks, with the left-leaning group Indivisible helping organize the Reno and Carson City gatherings. The protest in Las Vegas was also organized by Indivisible. 

With Spanish the most popular and Tagalog in second, about a third of the Nevada population speaks a language other than English at home.

The application to join 287(g) marks a shift for McMahill, who has previously said that Metro would only enter into such an agreement if the federal government passed a law requiring them to do so.

A recent executive order that would withhold federal funding from “sanctuary jurisdictions” — which extend protections to undocumented people — has placed additional pressure on officials to collaborate with ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday published a list of sanctuary jurisdictions and said each one will receive formal notification that the government has deemed them noncompliant.

On April 28, President Donald Trump called for the federal government to withhold funds from "sanctuary jurisdiction" if they obstruct immigration enforcement activity. It could have a wide-reaching effect in Nevada, where nearly 30 percent of state funding comes from federal sources. 

The justices heard arguments Thursday in the Trump administration’s emergency appeals over lower court orders that have kept the citizenship restrictions on hold across the country.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro ruled to temporarily block Viloria Aviles’ deportation, after a request from Viloria Aviles’ lawyers, who contend that use of the Alien Enemies Act is unlawful and undermines his right to seek asylum.

There haven’t been “any reports of any big raids” in Nevada, according to Martha Menendez, an immigration attorney with the Nevada Immigrant Coalition.

Although undocumented immigrants are not eligible for programs such as Social Security or Medicaid, the amount Nevada’s undocumented population contributes in taxes is huge — more than $500 million in 2022

Over the next two years, Nevada Medicaid expects there to be a 15 percent reduction in Medicaid caseloads from mixed-status families because of “increased federal scrutiny.” Lawfully present immigrants — including asylum seekers and green card holders — have been allowed to enroll in Medicaid since the ‘90s.

AB180, sponsored by Assm. Reuben D’Silva, seeks to streamline the licensing process, while SB295, sponsored by Sen. Fabian Doñate, addresses public health regulations that can create often prohibitive startup costs for some sellers.

Immigration advocates contend that there’s much more to the legislatively commissioned, nonbinding guidelines — meant to provide a blueprint for public agencies asked to do voluntary immigration enforcement for the federal government.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the sheriff’s office and ICE officials on Feb. 19 authorized certain Douglas County officers to arrest suspected undocumented people without a warrant. 

Trump has pushed to expand a controversial program, known as 287(g), that trains local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.

The state helped college students work around the financial barriers of lacking legal status, but students are feeling the limits of schools’ ability to support them.

In Nevada, about a third of the population speaks a language other than English at home, most of those individuals being Spanish speakers, followed by those who speak “Asian and Pacific Island languages.”

Under the agreement, Douglas County officers can question and possibly arrest people they suspect to be noncitizens in their day-to-day activities if believed to have violated immigration law. 

Agencies in Nevada have been moving staffers and funds to compensate for a federal pause, and seeking answers on the future of refugee resettlement.