Weeks after Henderson officials announced they were reviewing an agreement that lets federal immigration authorities house detainees at the city jail, the city has yet to provide information showing whether the agreement benefits the city or costs it money — because they won’t say how much it costs to house an ICE detainee.

Henderson’s public information office said after a Jan. 20 City Council meeting that the agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was being evaluated by senior city leadership and council members. Dozens of people had gathered at the meeting to call for an end to the agreement, which has been in place since 2010 and allows for ICE and other federal agencies to house detainees at the Henderson Detention Center.

Since then, the city has denied multiple Las Vegas Review-Journal interview requests to determine what Henderson officials are evaluating. The city has also indefinitely delayed a public records request about how much money it costs to house ICE detainees.

“The evaluation was initiated as part of the City’s regular practice of reviewing agreements to ensure they continue to align with the City’s operational needs, legal obligations and overall best interests,” public information officer Madeleine Skains said in an email Wednesday. “The review is ongoing and is being conducted collaboratively across multiple City departments.”

When the Review-Journal attempted to speak with City Manager Stephanie Garcia Vause about the agreement after Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Garcia Vause declined to answer questions, saying that she didn’t have enough information on her at the time.

The next day, Skains said the city would decline interviews with the city manager while the review is underway.

“There is no set timeline for completion, and it would be premature to discuss any findings while the process remains underway,” Skains’ email said. “For that reason, the City is not participating in interviews regarding the review. Once the evaluation is complete and a determination is made, we will be sure to share that information.”

Garcia-Vause did not respond to a call Thursday seeking comment. Mayor Michelle Romero said in a text message Thursday that she was expecting an update about the agreement in the near future. When asked why the city’s review has lasted weeks, Romero deferred to Garcia-Vause.

“That would be a question for the city manager,” Romero said.

Henderson has released documents that raise questions about the financial viability of the agreement and whether ICE is reimbursing Henderson enough to cover the city’s per-day cost to house an inmate in the jail.

According to an updated 2021 version of the agreement, ICE, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies can house up to 250 inmates at the Henderson Detention Center. In return, the city is reimbursed $135 per detainee per day.

Henderson spent an average of $275 per inmate per day to house inmates last year, Henderson Police Department spokesperson Yazmin Beltran said in a Jan. 26 email. That’s $140 more than what the city is reimbursed per the most recent version of the agreement.

That average $275 cost applies to all inmates at the Henderson jail, including those who have been arrested by Henderson police on suspicion of local crimes. Henderson officials have not specified what it costs per day, on average, to house an ICE detainee.

Chief Reggie Rader said in a phone interview Thursday that ICE had 86 immigrants detained at the jail, which can hold up to 540 people. Rader also noted the city’s agreement is different from the 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to perform limited immigration enforcement. The Clark County Detention Center has such an agreement with ICE.

“We provide any of the federal inmates that are covered by that umbrella, including DEA, ICE, FBI, even the (U.S.) Postal Service — they are able to rent bed space, essentially use our facilities as a holding facility for those inmates,” said Rader, who became the city’s police chief in July.

Rader stressed Henderson police do not participate in immigration enforcement.

“The Henderson Police Department has never, and will never, enforce any immigration (or) federal laws in our community,” Rader said. “And the big reason for that is we need people to be comfortable with the police, we need them to be able to come forward and call for help if they need, and not worry about repercussions or about getting deported.”

In another records request, the city released total operating costs for the Henderson Detention Center and total revenue generated by the agreement from 2020 through 2025. But the city did not release information about how much it costs to house the federal detainees, and whether the revenue generated by the agreement was enough to cover the cost of housing those in federal custody.

The federal government in that five-year span paid about $24.5 million, or about 15 percent, of the jail’s operating expenses, which totaled over $165.3 million. The city received about $7.3 million from the federal government in 2020, the highest total received in that stretch, which offset 30.2 percent of the jail’s operating costs. In 2025, the city received a little more than $3.5 million, or about 10.5 percent of the $33.6 million spent to run the jail.

Councilman Jim Seebock said days after the city announced it was reviewing the ICE agreement that he wouldn’t be able to continue supporting it if the city’s review found it was losing the city millions of dollars. But he said he does not support Henderson becoming a “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants. Seebock on Thursday said he stood by his comments.

“There are direct costs, there are indirect costs we need to look at,” Seebock said. “The goal of this is to make sure we’re making an informed and accurate decision and not a premature one.”

Romero pledged her support for law enforcement following a mayoral forum last month and echoed Seebock’s sentiment about not wanting Henderson to become a sanctuary city. Romero on Thursday also stood by her remarks.

“We’re a city of laws,” Romero said. “We’ll look at it and make sure that it’s financially sustainable, but regardless one way or other, we will comply with the law. We will work with the (Trump) administration and we will work with the governor’s office to make sure that we are doing what we need to be able to do to not be a sanctuary city.”

Councilwomen Monica Larson and Carrie Cox and Councilman Dan Stewart did not respond to a requests for comment.

After Henderson announced it was reviewing the ICE agreement, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ending it would make Southern Nevada residents less safe.

In a separate statement Saturday, a DHS spokesperson said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem aims to work with officials to expand detention space to help federal law enforcement “carry out the largest deportation effort in American history.”

“ICE is targeting criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more,” the statement continued. “Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities.”

President Donald Trump campaigned on carrying out the largest mass deportation effort in modern U.S. history. With nearly 1.5 million votes cast in Nevada during the 2024 election, Trump carried the Silver State by 46,008 votes over Democratic nominee and former Vice President Kamala Harris. While Trump did not win Clark County, he outpolled Harris in nearly all of the precincts in the Henderson area.

Henderson resident John Mann, who at Tuesday’s Henderson City Council meeting urged council members to continue the agreement, told the Review-Journal he believes the agreement benefits the city.

“They are making the streets safer,” Mann said. “Laws are in place for a reason.”

Jen Hansen, another Henderson resident who is a founding member of the progressive grassroots group We the People of Henderson, helped orchestrate a protest in late January at Eastern Avenue and Horizon Ridge Parkway that was attended by hundreds. She said on Thursday the city should be more open about how it’s reviewing the agreement.

“It seems like they (the city) don’t want people talking about it, and this is a way for them to not,” Hansen said.

Hansen said her opposition to Trump’s immigration crackdown largely stems from the fact that many immigration officers are operating while masked and without body cameras and because of the range of immigrants being deported.

Hansen said she wished officials would work to reform pathways to citizenship.

“That is why we are upset, because they are not only getting ‘the worst of the worst,’” Hansen said, alluding to a line used by Trump and others in the administration to describe who’s being targeted for deportation. “Nobody wants criminals and rapists and murderers to stay in our country unless they’re in jail. Nobody wants that.”

Mann also said he and others are watching closely on how the city moves forward.

“If they (the city) think it’s a losing proposition, or they decide we’re just going to give in and become a sanctuary city, well, then I’m sure that there’s a lot of people out there who are going to make them know how they feel about that, one way or another, at the voting booth.”

The “What Are They Hiding?” column was created to educate Nevadans about transparency laws, inform readers about Review-Journal coverage being stymied by bureaucracies and shame public officials into being open with the hardworking people who pay all of the government’s bills. Were you wrongly denied access to public records? Share your story with us at whataretheyhiding@reviewjournal.com.

A previous version of this story misstated Dan Stewart’s name.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com, or follow him on X, @Casey_Harrison1.