Nye County Sheriff’s Office clarifies immigration policy
Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill recently made a clarification to a previous statement about immigration enforcement in Nye County.
McGill told the Pahrump Valley Times that some area residents are under the impression that the sheriff’s office can enforce immigration laws, but are choosing not to perform such actions.
McGill said the impression is 100 percent wrong.
“We cannot enforce immigration,” he said. “I made a post on the NCSO app and Facebook page in reference to the immigration issue. The post could have been made clearer. There is a lot of confusion as to what was said and the intent behind that post. I want you to know that I am completely in favor of a secure border for the United States of America. I believe in legal immigration into this country.”
Following the law as written
At the same time, McGill said that he certainly does not agree with illegal immigration.
“Although it is a federal offense to enter the country without authorization, that is not a crime punishable at the state level, as we do not enforce immigration,” he maintained. “As far as immigration enforcement in Nye County, we will allow immigration and enforcement to conduct their operations here, however, we will not do their job for them. We will not interfere with them, but we will not conduct immigration enforcement.”
Contact Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com.
