Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo joined with 25 other Republican governors to pledge their support for President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to “make America safe again by addressing the illegal immigration crisis and deporting illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security.”
Lombardo’s commitment came just days after he said it was “too soon to opine” on the state’s role in carrying out Trump’s planned deportation policy.
The governors wrote in the joint statement that they fully commit to supporting the incoming administration’s efforts to “deport dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists who are in this country illegally.”
“We understand the direct threat these criminal illegal immigrants pose to public safety and our national security, and we will do everything in our power to assist in removing them from our communities,” the statement said.
At a Western Governors’ Association press conference Monday, Lombardo said the “devil’s in the details” when it came to Trump’s campaign promises to enact the “largest mass deportation of criminals” in U.S. history, saying things get promised during campaigns but the practicality of implementing them “comes to bear.”
Lombardo also said more details were needed when asked whether he would use Nevada’s National Guard to carry out Trump’s plan.
The joint statement, however, made the Nevada National Guard’s role more clear.
“We stand ready to utilize every tool at our disposal — whether through state law enforcement or the National Guard — to support President Trump in this vital mission,” the statement said.
Since he was elected in 2022, Lombardo has remained staunchly in favor of tougher border security.
Lombardo’s office declined to comment beyond the letter from the Republican governors. It added that no more details have come out since Monday, and that the governor will discuss the policy details as soon as they’re released by Trump.
Lombardo ‘very reasonable and responsible’
Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition team, said in a statement that local and state officials on the front lines of the “Harris-Biden border invasion” have been suffering for four years.
“On day one, President Trump will marshal every lever of power to secure the border, protect their communities, and launch the largest mass deportation operation of illegal immigrant criminals in history,” Leavitt said in the statement.
Chuck Muth, a conservative blogger in Nevada, said Lombardo has been “very reasonable and responsible” when dealing with the immigration issue, so “I’d have to defer to the governor’s judgment on this one.”
He said Trump hasn’t been inaugurated yet, and his plans remain hypothetical, so it is premature to jump to conclusions.
Muth said the border needs to be closed, which he thinks will be the easiest part of Trump’s plan. Next is the deportation part, which will be harder. Deporting undocumented immigrants currently serving time in U.S. prisons is “easy low-hanging fruit,” though the process itself will be difficult, Muth said.
When it comes to people who have been in the U.S. for a long time and are responsible members of the community, Muth would like to see a program that allows for them to stay without automatically granting citizenship.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.