LV-NLG Urges the Nevada Legislature to Pass the Keep Nevada Working Act (AB376)

The Las Vegas Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild applauds the recent introduction of AB376—otherwise known as the Keep Nevada Working Act—by Assemblywoman Selena Torres. If enacted, the bill would support a stable and growing Nevada economy and workforce,  keep Nevada’s agencies and resources focused on the needs of its communities, and promote public safety. Accordingly, we urge the Nevada Legislature to pass AB376 into law.

The Keep Nevada Working Act would, in compliance with federal law, (1) establish a task force, comprised of various stakeholders to better integrate Nevada’s communities and develop Nevada’s economy and workforce, (2) prohibit state agencies from imposing conditions on public services based on immigration status, (3) limit the circumstances under which immigration agents may interview individuals in state or local custody, and (4) would prohibit Nevada law enforcement from engaging in federal immigration enforcement.

The Act would support and ensure Nevada's immigrant workers and entrepreneurs will be able to continue contributing to Nevada’s economy. “I think it's important to remember that a lot of immigrants in our community are here working on visas and paying taxes here in our community. They are contributing to our state economy. They're consumers, they're small business owners, they're homeowners,” says Assemblywoman Torres. Immigrants represent a substantial percentage of Nevada’s population and an even larger percentage of Nevada’s essential workers. This has become particularly apparent in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2018, there were 587,686 Immigrants living in Nevada, representing 19% percent of the total population.[i] That year, Nevada’s immigrant community paid $1.3 billion in State taxes and generated $1.2 billion in revenue from businesses they owned in the State.[ii] As a whole, immigrants represent 27.4% of Nevada’s essential workers.[iii] An estimated 7.1% of Nevada’s total population is undocumented, higher than any other state in the Nation. In 2018, undocumented Nevadans contributed $121.3 million in state and local taxes.[iv] When it comes to essential workers, 80,000 undocumented Nevadans represent 8% of Nevada’s essential workers, this time tying Texas for the highest percentage.[v]

Additionally, the Keep Nevada Working Act would keep scarce state resources with Nevada communities. Federal law places responsibility for the enforcement of immigration laws solely with the federal government, which is funded, tasked and trained to enforce those laws. AB376 does not get in the way of those federal functions. AB376 “does not prevent federal enforcement agencies from detaining someone that is of interest to them,” says Jorge “Coco” Padilla, a law student at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law who drafted the first iteration of the Act. “This bill would just not allow our state agencies to practice federal immigration enforcement, because that's not what a state agency or a local agency should be doing.” States who engage inimmigration enforcement activities do so at their own expense, using their own resources and expending limited man hours to a function that belongs with the federal government. Up until 2019, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Las Vegas City Jail had 287(g) agreements with ICE, which empowered their departments to use department resources to do the job of the federal government to enforce federal immigration laws.[vi] Currently in Nevada, only the Nye County Sheriff's department continues to hold a 287(g) agreement.[vii] However, numerous other jurisdictions in the State still use resources for ICE purposes informally. Nevada should not be forced to subsidize the responsibility of federal agencies. This misuse of resources compromises the ability of Nevada agencies to effectively meet the needs of our communities and exposes them to legal liability.

Across Nevada, current and former policies entwining local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities, or assumptions about the existence of such policies, have made local communities less safe and less healthy by causing widespread fear in immigrant communities. The Keep Nevada Working Act would address this fear by creating clear, statewide standards that would, to the extent allowed by federal law, prevent state and local agencies from enforcing federal immigration law or recording an individual’s immigration status in almost every circumstance as unnecessary data for agency functions. “All too often in our schools and our communities I hear our kids saying they can't call the cops because they're scared about what that would mean for their parents' immigration status, even if they’re a victim of a crime.” says Assemblywoman Torres. Also, “if immigrants and Nevada citizens in families or households with individuals of different immigration status’ are feeling scared to report crimes that's not safe for anyone.”

The Keep Nevada Working Act must be passed out of committee by the April 9th deadline next Friday. The Act will be heard at the Assembly’s Government Affairs Committee meeting Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 9:00 AM Pacific. Those able to attend in support or give live testimony must register in advance at the legislature’s website which is provided in a link above. Those unable to attend may also submit written testimony in advance of the meeting at the same link. “Hopefully we'll hear from a lot of persons who are impacted from these predatory policies from federal and state and local enforcement agencies,” says Coco. Assemblywoman Torres agrees: “As the daughter of an immigrant, somebody who works closely with the immigrant community, I think it's really important that this legislative session, our community shows that we're willing to support and push for policy that supports our immigrant community. They're the backbone of the state's economy and they have been the essential workers throughout this pandemic.”

LV-NLG urges the Nevada Legislature to pass AB376 because the Keep Nevada Working Act would keep the State focused on what it should be: maintaining a safe, secure, and prosperous foundation for all Nevadans to build their lives and communities on.

[i]  American Immigration Council, Immigrants in Nevada, at 1 (2020), https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_nevada.pdf.

[ii]  Id. at 4.

[iii]  Donald Kerwin et al., US Foreign-Born Essential Workers by Status and State, and the Global Pandemic, CMS at 7 (May 2020), https://cmsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/US-Essential-Workers-Printable.pdf.

[iv]  American Immigration Council, supra note 1 at 4.

[v]  Undocumented Immigrant Essential Workers: 5 Things to Know, FWD (Feb. 22, 2021), https://www.fwd.us/news/undocumented-essential-workers-5-things-to-know/?fbclid=IwAR0NmqC4PO0PJbd0_BL3R7_hOW1YkPUMYs-LzdKnw0rSuBOO1K2VArL8T3E.

[vi]  See Michael Lyle, Following Metro, Las Vegas ends its 287(g) agreement, Nevada Current (Oct. 24, 2019), https://www.nevadacurrent.com/blog/following-metro-las-vegas-ends-its-287g-agreement/.

[vii]  Participating Entities, U.S. Imm. & Customs Enf., https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g (last visited April 12, 2021).