In November 2025, ICE held 554 people a day at the two detention centers it uses in Southern Nevada, and the Pahrump center alone held 461, far more than its ICE contract allows. In September 2026 the Henderson Detention Center, a city jail, was holding 74 people for ICE.
Under Joe Lombardo, Nevada's prison system hands every ICE detainee in its custody to federal agents, and he authorized about 35 Nevada National Guard members to give ICE "clerical, administrative and logistical support," a deployment extended to September 2026. Lombardo also praised the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which gave ICE $45 billion for detention.
ICE Detention in Pahrump, Henderson and Washoe County Under Joe Lombardo's Cooperation With ICE
- Pahrump's detention center holds far more ICE detainees than its contract allows. The Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump held 461 ICE detainees a day in November 2025, though its contract caps ICE detainees at 250 a day, and officials have questioned whether people held there can get adequate medical care and lawyers.
- Nevada's ICE detainee count rose by more than 30 percent in two months. From late September to late November 2025, the ICE population in Pahrump rose from 365 to 461 a day, in Henderson from 78 to 93, and in the Washoe County Jail from 16 to 46, ICE data reported by the Nevada Independent show; each added detainee is a parent, worker or neighbor removed from a Nevada community while a case proceeds.
- Henderson's city jail holds ICE detainees, which the ACLU says local taxpayers subsidize. The Henderson Detention Center held 74 ICE detainees on September 9, 2026, according to Henderson police data, and the ACLU of Nevada's director said Henderson taxpayers are paying to house ICE's detainees on city property, KSNV reported.
- Washoe County's jail added cells for ICE. In August 2025 Washoe County received state approval for a $430,000 federal grant to add holding cells and office space for ICE at the county jail in Reno, the Nevada Independent reported.
Joe Lombardo's Actions That Feed and Support ICE Detention in Nevada
- Lombardo Authorized Nevada National Guard Support for ICE in August 2025, Extended to September 2026. On August 8, 2025, Joe Lombardo's office confirmed he was authorizing the Nevada National Guard to assist ICE "in a temporary, administrative capacity," and the Guard said about 35 members would give ICE "clerical, administrative and logistical support." FOX5 reported in August 2025 that the planned mission would place Guard members in administrative roles such as case management, transportation and clerical work in Nevada ICE facilities, under a federal status that keeps the members under the governor's command. The Nevada Independent reported in January 2026 that the mission had been extended to September 2026 and that Guard members "have been told not to interact with ICE detainees or do public-facing work." The ACLU of Nevada said the Guard's help would "clear up more ICE officers to go after people on the ground," FOX5 reported, and Nevada's ICE detainee population grew by more than 30 percent between September and November 2025.
- Lombardo's Prison System Hands Every ICE Detainee to Federal Agents. Joe Lombardo's immigration policy timeline, sent to the Justice Department and reported by the Nevada Independent on August 23, 2025, says the Nevada Department of Corrections now turns over every inmate held for ICE to federal authorities, where ICE had picked up fewer than one in five of them before 2025. Most ICE arrests in Nevada, nearly 73 percent, take place in jails and other lock-ups, according to Prison Policy Initiative data reported by the Nevada Independent, and those arrested are held in centers such as Pahrump and Henderson while their cases proceed.
- Las Vegas Metro Rejoined ICE's 287(g) Program at the County Jail After Talks With Lombardo. Las Vegas Metro rejoined ICE's 287(g) program in June 2025 "following discussions with the governor," according to Joe Lombardo's own policy timeline; the agreement lets Metro hold people in the Clark County Detention Center up to 48 hours past their release date for ICE to collect them. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill has said "ICE picks up every single day from our jail," KSNV reported in September 2026.
- Lombardo Signed an Agreement in September 2025 to Carry Out the Administration's Immigration Agenda. In September 2025, Joe Lombardo signed an agreement with the Justice Department "to comply with the Trump administration's immigration agenda," the Nevada Independent reported, and Nevada came off the federal sanctuary list. "There are a lot of people in a growing detained population," Michael Kagan, who runs the immigration clinic at UNLV's law school, told the Nevada Independent in January 2026.
- Lombardo Praised the Law That Gave ICE $45 Billion for Detention. Joe Lombardo posted on July 3, 2025, the day the House gave the One Big Beautiful Bill Act final passage, that Nevadans should be excited about its "efforts to help secure our border." The law gives ICE $45 billion for detention. Twenty-nine people died in ICE custody from October 2025 to mid-April 2026, a record for any fiscal year.
Frequently Asked Questions About Joe Lombardo on Nevada ICE detention
What is Joe Lombardo's record on ICE detention in Nevada under Trump?
Joe Lombardo's prison system now hands every ICE detainee it holds to federal agents, he authorized Nevada National Guard members to give ICE administrative support, and Las Vegas Metro rejoined ICE's jail program after talks with him. He also praised the law that gave ICE $45 billion for detention, and ICE data showed the Pahrump detention center far over its ICE contract in November 2025.
How many people does ICE hold in Nevada under Joe Lombardo?
Under Joe Lombardo, ICE data showed 554 people a day held in Nevada's two southern ICE detention centers in November 2025, plus 46 a day in the Washoe County Jail, and the Henderson city jail held 74 ICE detainees in September 2026.
What did Nevada National Guard members do for ICE under Joe Lombardo?
Under the mission Joe Lombardo authorized, about 35 Nevada National Guard members were to give ICE administrative support while remaining under his command, in a deployment that was extended until September 2026. State Senator Edgar Flores said the support means "more individuals getting arrested."
Last updated: 2026-10-26