Code Red: Local Workers Must Know Their Rights as ICE Activity Ramps Up in Las Vegas
By Jill Glass
The Las Vegas Democratic Socialists of America (LVDSA) fight to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and build a future where all people can live, work, and move safely and with dignity. Our fabulous Las Vegas is an iconic world-class destination because of its diversity and immigrant contributions; we should celebrate and invigorate this workforce. Yet, today’s young and diverse workers are subject to vicious, violent ICE raids where agents are rewarded for exceeding quotas of captured humans, never mind how these numbers are attained. Our neighbors are not tally marks to meet ICE agents’ monthly goals, and we are appalled that our local workers face this reality. As ICE activity ramps up in the Las Vegas Valley, we heed the call to action in supporting vital immigrant-led resistance.
LVDSA volunteers are proud to participate in the Nevada Immigrant Coalition’s (NIC) Fourth Amendment Know-Your-Rights Campaign, which includes ongoing canvassing of Las Vegas businesses to prepare owners and workers for unlawful ICE searches. LVDSA is eager to meet the needs of neighbors who are most vulnerable to these sweeps – nonwhite workers in bustling, diverse business districts with warehouses, big-box stores, and corporate chains. As Las Vegas’s young and diverse workforce shows up each day to get the job done, they are expected to serve customers with a smile while ignoring the fact that ICE could and has shown up at any moment to take people away.
Pounding the pavement
Last month, LVDSA joined NIC for another round of canvassing local businesses. The goal of these interactions is to clarify workers’ rights, provide useful information, and encourage the staff to have a plan should ICE arrive.
”Although we have not seen the same level of enforcement activity in Nevada like in Minneapolis, Chicago, or Los Angeles, our neighbors and our families are being kidnapped,” NIC coordinator Noé Orosco tells the group of canvassers before they head out. Orosco continues, “Last year there was an increase of over 200 percent in detentions in Nevada, and 60 percent of people detained have no criminal convictions. That’s why we are working with DSA—so our neighbors and communities know what to do if they are impacted by the deportation machine.”
Orosco explains what resources organizers are providing businesses, such as large ACLU-published know-your-rights signs to keep in the staff room, a stack of red wallet-sized know-your-rights cards at the cash registers for customers and employees, and No ICE Allowed signs that businesses can put in their windows.
LVDSA applauds local businesses standing up to ICE.
Read carefully: only judge-signed search warrants allow ICE in private areas.
Unfortunately, a No ICE Allowed sign does not guarantee that ICE agents will keep out. They are indeed allowed in public spaces, such as the entrance area or the counter where one orders food, like all of us. The business can, however, refuse to serve or interact with ICE agents without a judge-signed search warrant. In restaurants and food chains across the country, employees stand up to ICE and refuse them service. Las Vegas workers can do the same.
Poster by ACLU Nevada
In cities that experienced intense “blitz” raids, reports abounded of masked, armed ICE agents storming into businesses flashing blank administrative warrants to gain entry to private areas, such as the staff room, manager’s office, or locker rooms. ACLU and NIC stress the importance of staff calmly and carefully examining all documents for the specific markings of a judicial search warrant, especially noting the date and whether a judge has signed it. A search warrant signed by a judge is the only document that permits ICE to go beyond public areas.
Envisioning a safe, inclusive, and aspirational Las Vegas Valley for the next generation
The group of canvassers breaks into teams, each assigned to a business district where recent ICE pickups were reported, each with a tote bag full of literature and a list of establishments to hit.
While it’s a relief to know constitutional rights protect employees and customers, meeting the young Las Vegans working in these businesses every day still leaves canvassers uneasy. In a popular nationwide sandwich store near Craig and Losee, two teenage cashiers–both nonwhite– study the volunteers with polite suspicion as they introduce themselves. In the clean, familiar atmosphere ubiquitous to corporate food chains, it’s hard to imagine the two young cashiers encountering a group of masked ICE agents carrying guns.
“Hi, I’m Anthony. I’m an organizer here with my friends on behalf of the Nevada Immigrant Coalition to let you know that ICE has been in the area. There was just a pickup right there,” says Anthony Lambert, a member of LVDSA, as he points out the window to the intersection. The teens nod –they have heard. “You have rights, and we want to make sure you know them.” The youths exchange glances, eyebrows raised, as Lambert hands them information and highlights the most important points. “If ICE comes in without a signed warrant, are they allowed behind the counter? In the staff room? How about the manager’s office? No. And you don’t have to talk to them.” By the time Lambert and team leave, the teenagers smile and thank the organizers.
Most of the businesses the team enters have young employees –many teens of color–working behind the counters. They may be learning how to navigate the pitfalls of capitalism in the real world for the first time – rude customers, outlandish complaints, discrepancies in the accounting at the end of a long day. Working in the service industry as a teenager is a rite of passage in American culture, yet leaving these teens to fend for themselves against hostile, masked, armed ICE agents waving phony warrants seems terribly wrong. How does this cultivate the sense of autonomy, aspiration, and community spirit among our youths? How does this prepare them to be the next generation of leaders? Watching these teens’ faces turn from frustration to gratitude is satisfying. “Even just for today, these guys know there are people here trying to help, who know this isn’t right,” reflects LVDSA organizer Mikey LaFrambois. Hopefully, these workers will rely on their Fourth Amendment rights when the time comes.
Visit LVDSA.org to get involved with ICE resistance and immigrant advocacy today.
References
Moeller, J. (2025, June 17). Las Vegas hospitality industry braces for impact as ICE raids resume in workplaces. KTNV Channel 13 Action News. https://www.ktnv.com/news/las-vegas-hospitality-industry-braces-for-impact-as-ice-raids-resume-in-workplaces
Nevada Immigrant Coalition. (2026). https://nvimmigrantcoalition.org/about/
News 3 Staff. (2025, July 16). Nevada leaders respond after airport ICE detention attempt sparks disturbance. News 3 Las Vegas. https://news3lv.com/news/local/nevada-leaders-respond-after-airport-ice-detention-attempt-sparks-disturbance-ice-ice-arrests-ice-agents-department-of-homeland-security-harry-reid-international-airport-federal-agents-government-catherine-cortez-masto-senator-jacky-rosen-joe-lombardo
Pierini, D., & Hanson, A. (2026, January 13). Security guard stands firm against ICE agents at north Minneapolis McDonald’s. Sahan Journal. https://sahanjournal.com/news-partners/mcdonalds-security-guard-stands-up-to-ice-10-toes-down/
Winger, E. (2026, January 27). ICE’s secret policy to forcibly enter homes without a judicial warrant threatens all Americans. American Immigration Council. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ices-secret-warrantless-home-entry-policy/
https://sahanjournal.com/news-partners/mcdonalds-security-guard-stands-up-to-ice-10-toes-down/