The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said that it’s not assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities with community-based enforcement outside its Northern Nevada jail, despite what ICE records suggest.
A department spokesperson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal Friday that it had reached out to ICE to correct the record.
The Sheriff’s Office this month signed onto ICE’s 287 (g) program that allows for certain local officers to be deputized for immigration enforcement.
An ICE document that lists participating agencies showed that the sheriff’s office was participating in two of three of the federal agency’s models. The document hadn’t been updated as of Friday afternoon.
One of the programs allows officers to “serve and execute” immigration warrants on jailed persons.
The other — “The Task Force Model” — acts as a “force multiplier” to “enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada warned that the latter could’ve led to racial profiling and constitutional violations, issues that led to the program being discontinued under former President Barack Obama.
President Donald Trump revived the task force model as his administration moves to fulfill his promise of “mass deportations” of undocumented immigrants.
“Recent media reports have incorrectly suggested that (the Sheriff’s Office) entered into the Task Force Model of Section 287(g), implying an expanded role that goes beyond jail operations,” the spokesperson wrote in a release.
The local law enforcement agency said that outside of the jail, its agreement with ICE doesn’t allow it to “conduct immigration enforcement in the community, nor does it permit immigration raids, street-level checks, or targeting individuals based on perceived immigration status.”
The Sheriff’s Office said it has a longstanding partnership with ICE.
“Previously, ICE was simply notified when a foreign-born individual was booked,” the release said. “Under the new agreement, when an individual who is foreign-born is arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail, ICE will be notified.”
The release added: “ICE will then assess the individual’s immigration status and determine whether they are subject to removal from the United States. If deemed necessary, ICE may place a detainer on the individual.”
The Sheriff’s Office is the only law enforcement agency in the state with a formal 287 (g) agreement.
The Metropolitan Police Department scrapped its formal ICE collaboration in 2019, although it reports to ICE inmates booked at the Clark County Detention Center on allegations that range from theft to violent crimes.
Metro has maintained that collaboration with ICE is limited to the jail.
“The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office remains dedicated to ensuring public safety while upholding the law in a fair and impartial manner for all members of our community,” the release said.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
