DC Download: Why all Nevada Democrats voted to advance the House GOP’s immigration bill

The first order of business of the 119th Congress was to bring back an old bill that had passed the House last year – the Laken Riley Lawnamed after the University of Georgia student murdered in 2024 by a migrant who entered the United States illegally and had a prior criminal record. The bill would mandate the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of theft or burglary.

Last year, 37 Democrats, including all those in Nevada, voted with all House Republicans to pass the bill; this time around, the bill attracted 48, indicating the new immigration policy realities Democrats are considering after the 2024 elections.

We will explore these realities below.

News of the week: Laken Riley Act

For years, the contours of the immigration debate — and the reason Congress has been unable to pass meaningful immigration legislation since the Reagan era — have been that Democrats’ top priority is to providing a pathway to citizenship for long-term undocumented residents of the United States. , while the Republicans wanted to strengthen border and immigration controls.

Many Democrats still view protections for Dreamers – beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program – as a red line. But immigration policy is changing, as evidenced by the fact that Nevada’s three Democratic lawmakers voted again in favor of the Laken Riley Act after supporting it last year.

People living in the United States illegally are already subject to deportation when convicted of a crime. But the Laken Riley Act would require local law enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants accused of or arrested for nonviolent crimes, whether or not they have been convicted.

The change has troubled immigration advocates such as Make the Road, which says the bill would give more power to anti-immigrant attorneys general and increase incidents of racial profiling.

Michael Kagan, an immigration law professor at UNLV, warned that the bill gives excessive power to local law enforcement and undermines due process.

“It will keep parents away from their children because of old shoplifting cases,” Kagan wrote in a sub-stack article. “And it betrays the fundamental principle of innocence until proven guilty, the idea that everyone should have a fair chance in court.” »

In the Senate, meanwhile, a large bipartisan majority (84-9) – including Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) – voted to advance debate on the bill.

“Nevadans want us to keep the community safe,” Cortez Masto said, explaining his vote.

When asked if she was concerned about due process, she noted that undocumented immigrants would retain their broader rights as immigrants in detention centers, including access to an attorney.

Many Democrats — including Nevadans who voted for it in the House — hope the amendment process in the Senate will be used to protect Dreamers or Temporary Protected Status recipients from the new legal standard for detention.

“If you are here undocumented and you commit a crime, you should be arrested,” said Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV). “It’s obviously not the perfect bill. I hope they will have amendments that correct some imperfections.

When asked what amendments she was seeking, Lee replied: “I would like a little more due process. »

Cortez Masto said she also hoped there would be a robust amendment process; that decision is up to Senate Republican leaders.

The Nevada Angle: Swing State Politics

Policy changes regarding undocumented immigrants – whether legislative or executive – have the potential to upend Nevada, which has the highest percentage of undocumented immigrants workers in its workforce from any state.

And Nevada’s delegation is a good barometer of how swing state Democrats will vote over the next two years, as the party estimates where it went wrong in 2024 — even without a Senate race this cycle.

When Democrats in a swing district or moderates vote against the leadership, Lee is usually the first to jump. Horsford is the second most likely. But when all three vote with the Republican majority, it usually means the issue at hand resonates throughout Southern Nevada.

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), who often speaks about the prevalence of mixed-status families in her district, said she would support an amendment process that would provide more protections for Dreamers and TPS recipients. But she strongly supported the bill.

“I don’t think everyone who crosses the border is a criminal,” Titus said. “But for those who are, as for anyone who breaks the law, there are consequences.”

Kagan, who opposes the bill on its political merits, also argues that the political aspects of it are problematic. When discourse about immigrants is linked to crime, he writes, public opinion turns against immigrants; in contrast, when people consider eviction of long-term residents, they are more troubled.

Democrats, he argues, are ceding the political ground on immigration to Republicans in a way that will only backfire.

Nevada Democratic lawmakers have said they support the policy legislatively. But it’s worth noting that they all won their last elections by single-digit margins — and immigration is consistently rated as the second most important issue among voters.

Before the election, when Democrats controlled the Senate, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) never brought the bill up for a vote.

The impact

Nevada has a estimated 190,000 undocumented people in the state. One nuance of the Laken Riley Act is that it transfers significant federal authority over immigration control to the states. This would allow attorneys general to seek a court order to deport any person, even if federal immigration authorities do not carry out a detention or deportation.

If passed in its current form, the partisanship of attorneys general would be highly relevant in determining how punitive different states are in seeking detentions and deportations. Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford could find himself at odds with the Trump administration and having discretion whether or not to pursue certain cases.

Around the Capitol

2⃣Rosen forecasts for the second quarter — In an interview, Rosen detailed her plans for her second term: focusing on bipartisan bills and Nevada-centered priorities — given that she serves in the minority. The first step is to reintroduce legislation focused on domestic issues with Republican partners, including a bill to create technical apprenticeships and community college programs for home builders, a bill allowing small businesses to access federal resources to establish child care programs and legislation to invest. in the training of nurses in rural areas.

She will also reintroduce the Washoe County land bill, which passed out of committee but never came to a vote in the last Congress.

And in her meetings with Trump Cabinet nominees, she focuses on Nevada’s priorities: tourism infrastructure, Brightline West, the lithium loop and broadband.

Captain Brown goes to Washington — Sam Brown may not have won the U.S. Senate race in Nevada, but it turns out he’s going to Washington after all. President-elect Donald Trump named Brown assistant secretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, putting him in charge of the maintenance and operation of veterans cemeteries. The position requires Senate confirmation.

Buzzer Beater EV Charger Announcement — As time runs out for the Biden administration, agencies are scrambling to secure new awards for states and localities. The Department of Transportation awarded $3.2 million for electric vehicle charging stations in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The money will be used to build 185 ports across seven new stations.

Secure Rubies — On December 30, the Biden administration honored a long-standing request from Cortez Masto and began the process to remove the Ruby Mountains from oil, gas and geothermal exploration for 20 years.

The mountain range, located in northeastern Nevada, would still be open for mining. The withdrawal now moves to a 90-day comment period, coinciding with the start of the Trump administration.

End of Frierson era at USAO — U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada Jason Frierson announced he will resign on January 17, after serving in the role for nearly three years. The move is common for U.S. attorneys, who typically resign or are asked to resign by new presidents when they take office.

Trump has not yet announced who he plans to nominate to represent the Justice Department in Nevada. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Gov. Joe Lombardo (R-NV) met in December to come up with a list of names to forward to Team Trump.

What I read

NPR: Wage increase for home health care workers in Nevada is a game-changer

#NVLegMatters

The Nevada Independent: Analysis: How Did Nevada Use Funds From Its $2.7 Billion American Rescue Plan?

The huge influx of federal funds has changed Nevada’s budget outlook over the past four years.

Military.com: Air Force veteran tells story of hidden health risks at Nevada test site

It has long been a bipartisan priority of the Nevada delegation that working at the Nevada Test and Training Range be considered a presumptive exposure for health care purposes.

Remarkable and quotable

“People expect us to be practical. That’s why sometimes they get frustrated when we don’t do things, (because) we don’t agree on everything.”

— Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), on the lessons Democrats need to understand better about voters in swing states

Vote of the week

HR23 — In the process of adoption: Law on neutralization of illegitimate courts

The bill, which passed the House, would sanction officials at the International Criminal Court for their decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And that confirms my earlier point: Titus is generally the least likely of the three Nevada Democrats to flip-flop.

AMODEI: Yes

HORSFORD: Yes

LEE: Yes

TITUS: No