Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Local immigration advocates say Metro’s policy toward nonviolent offenders runs contrary to Lombardo’s public position. They also say the department’s record-keeping practice is non-transparent.”

After Joe Lombardo spent months giving different stories on his immigration policies to different audiences throughout his campaign for governor, a shocking new report reveals that it’s no longer just white lies for political gain–he’s led a corrupt immigration enforcement operation that contradicts his previous statements and has been kept private inside the walls of Metro.

The day after Lombardo publicly touted ending the controversial 287(g) program–a move that was celebrated by immigration advocates–Metro officers were instructed essentially to keep the program in place…but behind closed doors with no record-keeping. 

Lombardo is now using this policy as a campaign talking point to get ahead in a competitive Republican primary. As candidate for governor, he has bragged about his zero tolerance stance, Metro’s coordination with ICE after the end of the 287(g) program, and his role in deporting thousands of immigrants. At an event hosted by the NAACP, however, he attempted to rewrite history by downplaying his role in immigration enforcement and insisting any claims he operates a zero tolerance policy for undocumented immigration is ‘absolutely false.’

Read more about Lombardo’s corrupt and deceitful practices below:

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Police help ICE seize undocumented immigrants jailed for nonviolent crimes

Michael Scott Davidson

November 19, 2021

Key points:

• Las Vegas police help federal officials capture undocumented immigrants jailed for nonviolent crimes, a shift in practice that critics say was never made public.

• The Metropolitan Police Department has also instructed jail officials not to record on inmates’ booking logs that they were picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Metro documents show.

• Illegal immigration is a top campaign issue for Republicans heading into competitive primaries in 2022, including Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who is running for governor. Many support deporting undocumented immigrants with any kind of criminal record, while Lombardo’s campaign promotes a “zero-tolerance policy for violent criminals.”

• But local immigration advocates say Metro’s policy toward nonviolent offenders runs contrary to Lombardo’s public position. They also say the department’s record-keeping practice is non-transparent.

• The Review-Journal obtained the policy through a public records request after Lombardo reportedly boasted at a July campaign event that he was involved in deporting 10,000 people. The policy change became effective one day after the sheriff announced in October 2019 that the county jail would exit the 287(g) program, its then-partnership with ICE.

• The policy instructs jail staff to contact ICE “24/7” about inmates wanted for deportation proceedings, according to the document.

• ICE agents are told when the inmate will be released from the jail so that they can be outside waiting to take them into custody, OcampoGomez said. The pickups are not recorded on inmates’ booking logs, a practice that diverges from recordkeeping under the 287(g) program.

• Some critics, including UNLV Immigration Clinic director Michael Kagan, said the policy allows Nevada’s largest law enforcement agency to obscure its coordination with ICE.

• “It’s not as if Metro is a passive actor here. They’re actively involved in the process and choosing to be actively involved,” said Kagan, whose clinic defends people facing deportation. “That means that they certainly have a responsibility to keep records to let the public know what they’re doing. That’s a basic requirement of transparency.”

• Some members of the Clark County Commission, who determine the county jail’s annual budget, currently more than $250 million, said they were unaware Metro helps ICE apprehend inmates accused of nonviolent crimes.

• “If they changed the policy internally I would hope they would let us know, because before we were clear that this was about violent crimes,” Commissioner Tick Segerblom said. “To the extent we can keep families intact is best for Las Vegas.”

• Metro does not track how many county jail inmates ICE apprehends, OcampoGomez said. Emails from ICE notifying the jail about inmates of interest are also deleted after one year as a matter of department policy.

• Local immigration attorney Dee Sull said when representing immigrants facing deportation, not knowing their chain of custody between law enforcement agencies can make it harder to determine if there was any wrongdoing in the process or subpoena an officer in the case of civil litigation.

• After reviewing Metro’s policy, she added: “They’re removing themselves from being dragged into a lawsuit.”

• Lombardo brought renewed scrutiny to Metro’s practices after the July campaign comment that he had helped deport 10,000 people, reported by The Nevada Independent. In September, his campaign’s Twitter account tweeted the sheriff “developed an internal system to identify and report illegal immigrants.”

• Lombardo’s campaign website states that after he suspended the 287(g) program the sheriff “used extra personnel and dedicated scarce resources to working directly with ICE to determine the identity of violent criminals in other ways.”

• Lombardo’s campaign did not respond to repeated inquiries about the internal system or the “10,000 deported” claims. Metro spokesman Larry Hadfield said the department could not determine how many inmates were taken into custody under the 287(g) program because it no longer has access to ICE records.

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