In a move that raises critical questions about government transparency and civil rights, the ACLU of Nevada has filed a lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), alleging the department is withholding public records about its cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legal challenge follows multiple denied records requests and growing concerns about LVMPD’s newly adopted practices that may put immigrants and naturalized citizens at risk.

At the heart of the suit is LVMPD’s decision to sign a 287(g) agreement with ICE—a controversial federal program that grants local police the power to perform immigration enforcement duties. This partnership, which LVMPD had previously denied engaging in, empowers officers to execute civil immigration warrants and detain individuals up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release. Critics warn this delegation of power is ripe for abuse, especially when operated without oversight or public knowledge.

• To serve And Abuse
• Concerns Over School District Safety
• Road Kills Spur Action
• Cultural Sharing In Henderson
• Founding Roots Within CSN

Compounding these concerns is the department’s recently adopted “foreign born” policy, implemented in January 2025. According to the ACLU, the policy requires LVMPD to notify ICE whenever someone labeled as “foreign born” is booked into jail, regardless of that person’s immigration status. In an era of heightened federal scrutiny on naturalized citizens, this practice opens the door to racial profiling and wrongful detention—especially when the criteria for such a label remain unclear and undocumented.

The ACLU submitted two public records requests earlier this year, in January and June, seeking documentation of the 287(g) agreement and the “foreign born” notification policy. LVMPD has failed to respond, a decision the ACLU contends violates the Nevada Public Records Act (NPRA). “What is done in the dark will come to light,” said Athar Haseebullah, Executive Director of the ACLU of Nevada. “Nevadans deserve transparency. We’ll see LVMPD in court.

The implications of this legal battle go far beyond paperwork. Advocacy groups fear that policies like these, when shrouded in secrecy, endanger the rights of entire communities—particularly immigrants, Black and Brown Nevadans, and even U.S. citizens who may be wrongfully flagged. As naturalization itself becomes a more fragile legal status under federal law, the danger of quiet local-federal partnerships like this one becomes impossible to ignore.

With the lawsuit now filed, the question facing Las Vegas is not only whether LVMPD will be held legally accountable, but whether a broader culture of silence around immigration enforcement will finally be broken. For immigrant communities and their allies, the stakes are not just legal—they are personal, constitutional, and immediate.