Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Before members of the Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus outlined the bills they’re prioritizing in the newly convened session of the Nevada Legislature, the group’s new chair, Assemblywoman Cecelia González, D-Las Vegas, motioned the room to quiet.
“I just want to take 30 seconds of silence really quickly, to honor our immigrant community that is constantly used under attack in this administration,” González said Monday morning, the first day of the 2025 Legislature in Carson City.
“There is no doubt that our Latino community is under attack,” González said. “And as a member of a mixed status family with a biracial background, this issue is extremely personal to me. I feel and see the fear in our community every day.”
Much of the fear González referenced stems from President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations of illegal immigrants and limiting access to birthright citizenship. González said that during the upcoming session, there would be a focus “more than ever on the well being of Nevada families,” citing health care access, worker protections and securing rights of immigrant communities.
One of the solutions the caucus is proposing is the Family Support Unity Act, which would establish safeguards for children whose parents face deportation. Those measures include access to legal, social and educational resources.
“This bill is critical in preventing family separation from leaving children vulnerable to an in stable, overall, in stable, systematic neglect,” González said.
Under former President Joe Biden, deportations surpassed those in Trump’s first term; but the current president ran his campaign on promises of the “largest deportation operation in American history.” Trump has said criminals would be the priority, although the White House has stated the administration viewed anyone living in the U.S. illegally a criminal. Under federal law, however, being in the U.S. illegally is treated as a civil, not criminal, offense.
That blanket criminality applied to all undocumented immigrants by the Trump administration could be addressed at the state level by legislation that would guarantee due process access, the Mandated Court Notification Act. The bill would ensure individuals receive clear and timely notification of their court proceedings since permitting missed hearings could lead to further legal actions.
“I think we’ve all been there when we miss our court dates, when they’re so far in advance,”González said. “And so I’m really excited to bring this bill forward, especially for our community, to help access justice, addressing language barriers and overall systematic failures that, again, often result in legal consequences.”
Fears have been felt in educational spaces in Nevada, with naturalized citizens also expressing concerns, said Assemblywoman Selena Torres-Fossett, D-Las Vegas, another member of the caucus.
“I’ve already heard from administrators at my school that many of our scholars, teachers, are not on campus,” Torres-Fossett said. “And this is something that I know is impacting every community. I mean, even I thought about not showing up today in solidarity with the immigrant community and the fear that all of us are experiencing.”
While immigration remains a prevalent and politicized issue, Latino families have many other priorities beyond that, said another caucus member, Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, D-Las Vegas.
“Immigration is important to them, but I will tell you that if they don’t know if they’re going to have the money to make their next mortgage payment, or if they’re going to have money to split on their table, that’s the number one thing they’re thinking about first,” Jauregui told the Sun in December.
During Monday’s event state Sen. Fabian Doñate, D-Las Vegas, cited economic concerns as“one of the most pressing issues that we’ve heard from our community.”
“Latino immigrants, both documented and undocumented, are the backbone of this nation,” Doñate said. “….. They’ve created jobs and they’ve built our thriving communities. There is no economy without immigrants.”
He said policies that would uplift Latino communities include allowing businesses to grow through providing resources and incentives to entrepreneurs, like grants, credits and access to capital. Doñate added the caucus would also advocate for labor protections, better wages and benefits for farm workers.
“These workers deserve dignity and fair treatment, and it’s time that we put policies in place to support them,” Doñate added.
The state often ranks among the worst in the U.S. in education, and the Latino caucus said it would introduce several pieces of key legislation addressing educational gaps and disparities.
Torres-Fossett said the English Learners Accountability and Success Act would support students who are in the process of learning English through increasing data collection and support systems, like allowing newcomers more time to complete high school while learning the language.
The caucus also identified housing as another key issue. Gov. Joe Lombardo also identified lowering the cost of living and making housing more affordable as a priority in his State of the State address last month, adding that “housing costs are stretching budgets thin.”
The NLLC said it would support legislation to hold “large corporations accountable again,” and guarantee tenant protections through actions against “unjust evictions, discrimination and unsafe living conditions.” The caucus members also mentioned expanding programs to help first-time home buyers, especially in Latino communities, with down payment assistance, education and affordable mortgage options.
As the legislators laid out their priorities ahead of the first floor session, advocates who plan to work with them through June shared theirs as well. The advocacy groups included the Native Voters Alliance Nevada, Silver State Equality, Battle Born Progress and the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance.
Ben Iness, coalition coordinator for the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance, said there was a lot of energy and buzz for the new session, but the problem surrounding housing remains the same. He highlighted the “summary eviction process,” where a tenant must take their own eviction case up with the court rather than the norm of other states, where the landlord files the motion.
“They’re effectively suing against themselves because their landlord has an issue,” Iness said. “And so folks struggle to navigate that process, understand how it works. They might self evict out of fear or hopelessness and end up out on the streets in a very short amount of time.”
Iness also said the coalition was calling for rent stability, fee transparency and stronger habitability enforcement — like guarantees to a clean refrigerator and working water.
“If we were to take our state’s housing crisis seriously, then we would consider every solution at the table and examine the issue holistically,” Iness said. “If we only view housing as a commodity, something to be bought and sold without protecting it, and if we only view it as a matter of supply, then folks will continue to struggle.”
Other advocates discussed language expansions for voters, — legislation González is a part in putting forward — gun violence prevention and anti-book ban efforts.