The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada is moving forward with a lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), claiming that the department is neglecting to release public records concerning its collaboration with federal immigration authorities.
This legal action stems from the Laken Riley Act, which became law in January and was the first piece of legislation signed by President Donald Trump at the outset of his second term.
The act mandates that members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detain any undocumented immigrant who faces charges relating to offenses such as burglary, theft, larceny, and shoplifting.
Recently added offenses under this act include the assault of law enforcement officers and actions leading to death or injury.
In light of changes made to federal policies, LVMPD revised its ICE notifications policy, which significantly broadened the scope of offenses against foreign-born individuals that must be reported to ICE by the Detention Services Division.
According to ACLU officials, the vague nature of this policy increases the risk that U.S. citizens and individuals with legal documentation could be wrongly detained by ICE.
In June, LVMPD entered a partnership with ICE through the 287(g) program, which permits selected officers to receive training from ICE.
These officers, stationed in jails, assist with the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
In an interview, Sheriff Kevin McMahill explained that the policy change simply means that if ICE issues a warrant for an individual and they cannot physically take the individual into custody, LVMPD will detain that person for up to 48 hours until ICE can retrieve them.
ACLU officials, however, express concerns that the 287(g) agreement gives officers the authority to serve and execute civil immigration warrants as well.
The ACLU has made multiple public records requests to LVMPD, specifically on January 22 and June 4, to gain insight into the department’s practices related to immigration enforcement.
Despite these requests, LVMPD has only provided some of the records from the January request and has not fulfilled any part of the June request, which raises alarms about a potential effort to conceal the department’s full involvement with ICE.
In the lawsuit, LVMPD’s counsel argued that compliance with the ACLU’s request was only partially fulfilled due to claims that certain requests were overly burdensome and that some information about deportable aliens in custody is protected under federal regulations.
In June, the ACLU had reached out to LVMPD and its attorney, seeking clarification regarding which records were being withheld and the reasons based on the immigration records privilege and law enforcement privilege cited by LVMPD.
To date, ACLU officials claim they have received no response to their inquiries.
The ACLU argues that this lack of transparency violates the Nevada Public Records Act.
Athar Haseebullah, Executive Director of ACLU of Nevada, released a statement saying, “LVMPD recently signed a legally questionable 287(g) agreement with ICE, despite previous public assurances that it would not participate or subsidize the cost of detaining people on behalf of the federal government.
Alongside that agreement, LVMPD’s ‘foreign born’ policy raises a variety of concerns for U.S. citizens as the federal government continues to threaten naturalized citizens with denaturalization.
What is done in the dark will come to light, and we won’t be stonewalled.
We will now pursue these records in court because Nevadans deserve government transparency.
We will see LVMPD in court.”
When approached for comment, LVMPD stated that they do not address pending litigation.
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