Webinar: Tuesday, November 18th – 2 PM PT 

We have all seen the heartbreaking images of families being picked up, zip tied, and terrorized by ICE, Border Patrol, and other masked federal agents. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, teenagers, and little children – family units that start their day together and end up in detention and often separated. What happens when families are taken from our communities? Where are they detained, what happens to the kids, and how many are quietly deported or disappeared?

On Tuesday, November 18 at 2 pm PT, the National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention invites you to join us for an interactive webinar to learn about:

• The history of family detention in the U.S.; 
• The current conditions families face in detention and the policies that fuel this unjust practice;
• What people across the country are doing to oppose family detention and protect their communities; and
• How you can join the movement to #FreeFamilies from detention once and for all.

In the Trump Administration’s push to deport over 1 million people – with hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars funding ICE and CBP to terrorize communities – ICE has revived the practice of family detention in the United States. Family detention—like all immigration detention—is inherently inhumane, unjust and unnecessary. Detention inflicts profound harm on both children and adults that continues long after they are released and is especially traumatizing for children. As a growing number of families are kidnapped, detained, and forcibly removed or disappeared, it has never been more important for us to stand up for justice and for one another.

Speakers include: 

• Becca Asaki, Tsuru for Solidarity 
• Amy Fischer, Amnesty USA
• Javier Hidalgo, RAICES
• Guadalupe De la Cruz, American Friends Service Committee (FL) 
• Beatriz Batres, La ColectiVA
• Sulma Franco Chamale, Grassroots Leadership
• Tania Wolf, National Immigration Project 

Please share widely with your networks and communities! Spanish – English interpretation will be available. 

For more information about the new National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention, sign up here! 

SB6 has successfully passed the Assembly Floor vote! This is a major step in the right direction for the residents of Windsor Park, but the fight continues! Next it heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

Learn more about the history behind the residents’ struggle here.

LEAN testified in Support of SB 6.

Here is where we stand.

• 7 have passed out of both houses: Cybersecurity funding AB1, Gaming exemption from alcohol payment rules, AB2 Confidentiality of public officers’ personal information, AB3 A new program to address gaps in federal support for safety net initiatives SB3, Money to relocate Windsor Park residents SB6. This still needs Senate approval of amendments adopted in the Assembly. Changes to whether lung diseases are considered work-related SB7, Study of road safety ACR4
• 7 have passed out of their second committee but are awaiting a floor vote:
  • Gov. Joe Lombardo’s crime bill AB4, Expanding Nevada’s film tax credit program AB5, Stricter road rules near schools, AB6 Changes to insurance requirements for rental car transactions , SB1 New legislative operation rules, including funding for legislative security, SB2 Appropriations bill, including for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program SB4
  • A new grant program to limit health care provider shortages SB5
• 1 still needs approval from second committee:
  • Clarifying that employers don’t have to pay workers for activities that are “preliminary” or “postliminary” to their principal work duties SB8
• 1 is not moving forward:
  • Study of federal immigration enforcement activity ACR5

Here is what we are following during the Special Session.

Assembly Bill 5 establishes the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act, a major tax-incentive package intended to build a long-term film and media production industry in Nevada. At its core, AB 5 offers large, transferable tax credits to a private developer in exchange for a promised $400 million capital investment in a studio campus and entertainment district. The bill also creates a new fund to support workforce training in film, media, and related technology.

While the proposal aims to diversify Nevada’s economy, AB 5 raises significant concerns

• Stewardship & the Common Good
The bill carries an estimated net cost of more than $1.2 billion, according to the Nevada State Education Association. That level of revenue loss threatens the state’s ability to meet basic obligations—especially fully funding Nevada’s already under-resourced public schools. ELCA Social Statement on Sufficient Sustainable Livelihood for All calls us to steward public resources responsibly so that the needs of children, families, and the vulnerable are met before subsidizing private industry.

• Equity & Economic Justice
Earlier drafts included accountability provisions—such as reducing tax credits if studios failed to hire from under-represented groups or did not demonstrate diverse leadership. Those requirements were weakened in amendments, reducing clear pathways to equity and inclusion.

• Transparency & Accountability
The bill relies heavily on the promise that private developers will deliver long-term investment and job creation. But if investment benchmarks aren’t met, the state risks losing substantial tax revenue without receiving the projected benefits. Public investments should have strong accountability measures to ensure that Nevadans—especially workers and students—are not left bearing the cost.

• Moral Priorities
During a time of heightened need around housing affordability, food insecurity, public education, and healthcare, AB 5 directs enormous public resources toward subsidizing a single industry. Lutheran ethics calls us to evaluate public policy based on how it serves those most vulnerable, and whether it advances the flourishing of the whole community.