Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | 12:43 p.m.
Federal immigration enforcement agents apprehended multiple people outside Las Vegas Immigration Court near downtown Tuesday after they attended their scheduled hearings, according to the UNLV Immigration Clinic.
Michael Kagan, who directs the clinic, said court employees informed the organization that multiple asylum seekers were detained shortly after the Department of Homeland Security moved to dismiss their cases.
The Sun’s review of the non-detained court docket found six people with hearings had been detained as of Tuesday night. They are being held at Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump.
Kagan said these dismissals are concerning as they remove people from the asylum process.
“If someone is taken into custody while the immigration court case is proceeding, then there is an open procedure by which the custody can be regulated,” Kagan said. “When you dismiss the judicial process and then arrest someone, then a big red flag goes up.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kagan believes federal agents may be utilizing “expedited removal,” a policy that allows for the quick deportation of people who agents believe are undocumented and haven’t been in the country for more than two years. There is no requirement to see a judge.
The immigration status of the six detained people is unknown.
While expedited removal was previously only used within 100 miles of the border, President Donald Trump’s administration in January moved to expand it to the entire country.
“People come to court because they believe that in the United States everyone has a right to due process,” the Nevada Immigrant Coalition wrote in a statement to the Sun. “This administration is once again attacking the fundamental principle that in America everyone deserves a day in court.”
Other cities have seen similar activity.
Los Angeles’ Immigrant Defenders Law Center previously reported on social media that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents inside courtrooms detained people after their cases were dismissed.
Immigrant Defenders Law Center CEO Lindsay Toczylowski believes ICE is utilizing expedited removal, she wrote on social media.
“A lot of questions need to be answered about the degree of coordination between the DHS attorneys in the courtroom … and the ICE enforcement officers,” Kagan said. “We don’t yet have a clear picture of the legality of what’s going on.”
