Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Lawmakers question Henderson, county officials about ICE funds

Henderson Detention Center

Jackie Valley

The exterior of the Henderson Detention Center.

A committee meeting to discuss local governments became the latest front in the illegal immigration battle Wednesday, as Nevada Assembly members asked if Henderson and Clark County benefit financially from detaining people who had entered the U.S. illegally.

The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs met to hear presentations by representatives of the city of Henderson and Clark County. Municipalities and the state often work together on issues such as redevelopment districts and property taxes that are implemented by local governments but defined by state law.

After hearing a presentation from Henderson City Manager Robert Murnane, Assemblyman Edgar Flores, D-North Las Vegas, asked if Henderson received any money from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Do you, as a city, get any funding from the Henderson Detention Center? I know we have an agreement with ICE for beds there.” Flores said. “If you do, how much comes out of that annually?”

Henderson receives funds from ICE and Clark County for housing detainees, though the county has provided recently, Murnane said

“Last year we were (receiving) about $10 million to $10.5 million in revenues through those contracting procedures,” Murnane said. “That’s down $1.5 million to $2 million from previous rates. You may be aware Clark County opened its own jail, so we stopped receiving their prisoners to the magnitude that we had before and that’s reduced our occupancy rate.”

Murnane said it was his understanding that the Henderson Detention Center was the only authorized ICE facility in Southern Nevada.

Responding to follow-up questions from Assemblyman Chris Brooks, D-Las Vegas, Henderson Chief Financial Officer Richard Derrick said that at any given time, Henderson houses about 200 detainees for ICE. Murnane said losing the contract would hurt the city.

“It would be a hole in the budget” said Murnane, who explained that contract agreements such as the one with ICE were considered when the Henderson planned the funding for the jail’s operations. The jail could downsize if the ICE contract went away, he said, but the savings “wouldn’t be commensurate with the revenue loss.”

Brooks asked a similar question of Clark County Manager Yolanda King after she made a presentation about the operations and the budget of the County.

“Is there a contract like the city of Henderson has with ICE to detain prisoners (at the Clark County Detention Center)?” he said.

King said she did not know and would find out for the committee. But Chuck Callaway, Metro’s director of intergovernmental services, said that Metro — which operates the Clark County Detention Center — does detain people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally for 72 hours if ICE offers a formal request that includes probable cause.

Metro also participates in the ICE 287(g) program which it uses to find out the immigration status of detainees, Callaway said.

“Our corrections officers undergo training so they know how to access that system,” he said. “When anyone is booked, it’s determined if they are in the country illegally or not. And that system is checking if they are a priority for deportation. And then we contact ICE, and ICE makes decision to come pick that person up.”

Brooks and Flores aren’t the only Nevada legislators addressing the topic of how state and local governments deal with immigrants who have entered the U.S. illegally.

Assembly Majority Leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson, D-Reno, sponsored a bill this session that would extend compensation benefits for victims of violent crimes regardless of their citizenship.

And on Monday, Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, announced he will introduce a bill that would “eliminate state funding for local governments that willfully ignore federal law and operate as a sanctuary jurisdiction.”

Roberson has also issued a public statement, in response to comments of other public officials, in support of the 287(g) program calling it “a vital tool in making our community in Southern Nevada as safe as we can.”

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