Immigrants have a major impact on Nevada. How is the community preparing for Trump’s second term?

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was dominated by immigration talk, promising mass deportation of immigrant communities, particularly those of color. 

But many of his promises lack practicality. Echoing the grandiose promises of his first term, he has proposed things like ending birthright citizenship, which is protected in the U.S. constitution, and using state police to round up the undocumented. However, those policies could be hard to implement.

Still, in Nevada the immigrant community fears what could come next. As Trump swears in on Monday, many have to wait and see how these promised anti-immigrant policies will take effect.

While some of Trump’s policies seem out of reach, Nevada has made some nods of support to the new president. All of Nevada’s house Democrats voted to advance a migrant detention bill that would require the detention of undocumented immigrants who have been charged with non-violent crimes. This could be the first law Trump signs.

In the face of all this uncertainty, the immigrant community is coming together, showing solidarity, understanding their rights, and standing strong in the face of new waves of discrimination and an unknown future.

Groups like the Northern Nevada, Tahoe, and Truckee Immigration Practitioners are bringing together immigration attorneys and NGOs to help keep Nevada immigrants and the undocumented safe and making sure they know their rights.

The immigrant population in Nevada

Immigrants make up 23.6% of Nevada’s workforce and pay billions in taxes annually, expanding the labor force and increasing consumer spending.

Politicians who oppose immigration claim negative effects on the economy—from immigrants taking jobs away from native-born residents to increasing inflation to putting a significant weight on public welfare systems.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), higher immigration flows actually lower inflation. While it can slightly increase local housing and utilities inflation, it has no statistically significant impact on other services.

Furthermore, immigrants utilize less welfare and entitlement benefits than native-born Americans. According to the Cato Institute, immigrants comprised 14.6% of the U.S. population, yet consumed just 11.9% of all means-tested welfare and entitlement benefits in 2020.

In Nevada, where a large part of the economy depends on tourism, hospitality, and casinos, immigrants make up more than 60% of maids and housekeeping cleaners and construction laborers, and around half of all food preparation and gambling services workers. Without these vital jobs, the economy in Nevada would surely suffer.

Impact of undocumented immigrants in Nevada

While the threat of undocumented immigrants is a top agenda issue for the incoming Trump administration, the group represents about 11 million people, or 3.3% of the total U.S. population. But, undocumented immigrants comprise a substantial part of Nevada’s immigrant population. According to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, there are around 168,000 undocumented immigrants in Nevada, and in 2022, they spent more than $500 million in taxes in the state. These large numbers make immigrant populations in the state–as well as the state’s economy–particularly vulnerable to Trump’s promises of mass deportation.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo had previously signed onto a joint statement with 25 other Republican governors in support of the Trump administration’s immigration goals, saying they would use whatever tool necessary, whether state law enforcement or the National Guard. Last week, Lombardo said the process of mass deportations would take “quite some time” because of staffing issues with ICE. Immigration is a federal issue, and local law enforcement in Nevada is not required to enforce federal immigration laws. As it stands, there are plans to work with ICE in Trump’s promised immigration raids.

Regardless, there is still a heightened concern in Nevada amongst the immigrant and undocumented community as Trump swears in for his second term.

How immigrants are preparing in Nevada 

The Northern Nevada, Tahoe, and Truckee Immigration Practitioners is a group of nonprofits and immigration practitioners who provide legal advice and resources to immigrants in Nevada.

As a part of this, they are hosting a series of training events called “Know your rights,” held at safe and trusted community spaces. Some organizations involved include UndocuPack, an undocumented student program at UNR providing aid to undocumented students and mixed-status families, and Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada, which offers an immigration legal services program.

In December, one such event had as many as 800 participants. Yet, at last week’s similar training session, about 20 people attended, with organizers attributing the lack of turnout to heightened fear in the community as Trump takes office.

To help quell this fear, the event had expert speakers, including immigration lawyer Kyle E. Edgerton of Edgerton Legal, LLC. Edgerton was there to dispel disinformation and remind immigrants and undocumented individuals of their rights.

Edgerton recommended that if an Immigration official stops you in Nevada, do not run. Give them your name and birthdate if they ask, but after that, you have the right to remain silent, to say no to answering any of their questions about your immigration status, and to say no to a search of your belongings.

Events like “Know Your Rights” will become increasingly important to the Northern Nevada immigrant community if Trump rolls out his policy promises for mass deportation and harsh immigration legislation.

As we wait to see how things play out, one fact is that all persons in the United States have certain fundamental rights under the U.S. Constitution. This can be of small comfort to immigrants in Northern Nevada in the face of anti-immigration rhetoric, hate speech, and an unknown legal future.

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