Nye County is not a “sanctuary” for the undocumented

As President Donald Trump continues to push forward immigration enforcement activities and an increased amount of attention centers on the undocumented, Nye County has publicly restated its position as a “non-sanctuary status” county.

Nye County Resolution No. 2025-08, reaffirming non-sanctuary status, went before the Nye County Commission this week and was essentially a repeat of a similar resolution passed in 2017. The item came at the request of Nye County Commission Chair Ron Boskovich, who explained that he wanted the county’s view made clear, as there seemed to be some confusion among the community.

At the commission’s Feb. 19 meeting, the board voted 3-2 to approve a funding agreement with NyE Communities Coalition for the FASTT/MOST program, which has been a cyclical item that has passed without much debate for several years. This year, however, the commission had questions that led to a discussion on illegal immigrants.

The FASTT/MOST program is administered by the NyE Communities Coalition with two aims. The first is to assist inmates who are pending release with re-integration into society, so as to prevent recidivism, or repeat criminal offenses. The second focuses on diversion in situations where people may not need to be taken into custody.

The sticking point for commissioners focused on the chance of illegal immigrants slipping through the system via the pre-arrest diversion portion of the program.

“What we do when we arrest people is, we find out if they are illegal aliens here, in this county, and we report that to ICE,” commissioner Ian Bayne asserted at the board’s Feb. 19 meeting. “But under your pre-arrest diversion, if someone tells you they are illegal while you are diverting them, what would you do?”

However, Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill explained that he has stipulated to the coalition that he will not allow a “co-responder model,” where social workers respond alongside deputies. Instead, he said the FASTT/MOST team will only become involved in the event that deputies decide to contact them. As an example, McGill cited persons with mental health conditions, which might result in a response from law enforcement but may not necessarily result in an arrest. Therefore, anyone connected with the FASTT/MOST program would have already been identified as a citizen by the sheriff’s office.

“This is a tool in our collective toolbelt,” McGill stated.

The motion to approve the funding agreement in an amount not to exceed $94,854 came to a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Boskovich, Debra Strickland and John Koenig in favor and Bayne and Bruce Jabbour against. The item also prompted some social media comments that seemed to imply the county was becoming a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants.

“That is partially why this item is coming back, so there is no doubt where we stand on it,” Boskovich stated on March 4.

Strickland then made the motion to adopt the new non-sanctuary status resolution, which passed unanimously.

Following the meeting, Boskovich released a statement on the action as well.

“As the chairman of the Nye County Commission, I want you to know that you have my firm commitment to protecting our community from becoming a sanctuary county for illegal immigrants,” Boskovich wrote in a regular email newsletter to constituents. “That’s why… we passed a resolution reaffirming Nye County’s non-sanctuary status. We are fully committed to helping the [U.S.] Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Customs Enforcement in upholding the law of the land. While we love and appreciate the diversity that has made America great, we also value and respect the law and we hope you know how important it is to us to uphold it.”

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com