State treasurers, including Nevada’s, warn Trump immigration tactics hurt the economy

Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine joined other state officials across the country warning President Donald Trump that his aggressive immigration enforcement tactics would lead to tremendous economic harm in cities and states.

Conine along with 13 other Democratic state treasurers, comptrollers, and auditors signed onto a letter Tuesday amid a surge in immigration enforcement across the country. 

The most recent siege by federal agents in Minneapolis, which has uprooted the lives of residents and led to two American citizens being killed by agents last month, has sparked outrage nationwide.

In their letter to the administration, the state treasury officials said they were concerned about “the human toll, the climate of fear, and the violence and death accompanying these operations.” They also worried increased operations by the Trump Administration will cause “economic and fiscal damage” to the business sectors of these cities. 

Nevada has one of largest immigrant labor forces in the country that comprises nearly 400,000 workers, Conine noted in a statement Wednesday.

An analysis by the bipartisan political advocacy and research group Fwd.US estimated that immigrants contribute “$20.2 billion to the Nevada economy annually in personal income, making up nearly 1 in 5 of all spending-power dollars in the state.”

“It’s clear that this administration is willing to go around the Constitution and existing federal law to push immigration policies that could devastate our local workforce and Nevada’s hospitality industry,” Conine said.

Trump has carried out a campaign promise of mass deportation since returning to office last year. The move has seen a surge of federal agents swarm cities, disrupting the lives of residents and businesses alike.  

In the letter to the administration, the group of state fiscal officials asked Trump to scale back enforcement arguing the escalated activities were disrupting businesses and workers. 

The group said  federal immigration enforcement “must be done without destabilizing our state and local economies or the economic foundations of our governments.” 

“Many of our states already send more tax dollars to Washington than we receive in federal support,” the letter reads. “We are now expected to absorb the fiscal consequences of enforcement activities. This is not acceptable.”