Nevada represents both sides of the immigration debate in D.C., Miami

By Ana Ley, Amber Phillips

Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015 | 8:45 p.m.

Nevada represented both sides of the country's immigration debate today at separate events discussing President Barack Obama’s stalled immigration deal.

In Washington, D.C., Attorney General Adam Laxalt spoke before the House Judiciary Committee to defend his controversial decision to bring Nevada into a lawsuit against the president’s executive action granting deportation relief to millions living in the country illegally. Meanwhile in Miami, Las Vegas activist Astrid Silva attended a town hall where Obama vowed to do everything in his power to overhaul the nation’s immigration system.

Here are two quick takeaways on both events:

On Laxalt’s Washington debut:

Laxalt told lawmakers his decision to back the lawsuit “is not about immigration,” but rather an effort to stop Obama from overstepping his legal bounds by changing immigration law without the consent of Congress. The suit’s supporters were dealt a victory last week when a Texas federal judge temporarily halted Obama’s executive actions on procedural grounds. The Obama administration has requested a stay of the ruling.

Wednesday’s hearing served as a chance for Republicans to air grievances about the actions on the eve of a potential shutdown for the agency that carries them out.

On Obama’s speech in Miami:

The president took a defiant stance at Wednesday’s bilingual town hall, blaming Republicans for killing reform efforts and “trying to hold hostage” Department of Homeland Security funding in a political fight over the executive actions.

Obama spent much of the hourlong discussion rallying support for his actions and urging the audience to put pressure on Congress to come up with a permanent solution for the country’s broken immigration system. The event was hosted by MSNBC and Telemundo on the Florida International University campus.

A small crowd of relatives and friends gathered at the downtown offices of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada to watch a live stream of the conversation and catch glimpses of Silva, who became the face behind Obama’s immigration actions after the president visited Las Vegas in November to announce his plan.