LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – From better access to bilingual health care to protections for immigrant families, members of the Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus say they pushed for laws that reflect the needs of so many Latino Nevadans.
“One in three Nevadans, about 30%, is of Latino descent, and we also know that one in 10 Nevadans are also undocumented, and so the issues that we push forward as a caucus are representative of a large portion of our population,” said Nevada State Sentor Fabian Doñate.
At Tuesday’s conference, lawmakers highlighted one major win for the Latino caucus. The Family Unity Support Act was signed into law.
“Which is where parents are able to put who they want as a guardian in the event that there’s family separation due to immigration enforcement,” said Assemblymember Cecilia Gonzalez.
But not every bill made it to the governor’s desk – and some that did were vetoed. That includes AB217, which would have required ICE to present a judicial warrant before entering schools.
“So, we believe that was an important piece of legislation so that we can protect our education system and also our teachers from having to fall victims into this system,” Doñate said. “But unfortunately, that that bill was vetoed.”
Also vetoed – a street food vendor bill that sought to make licensing easier for immigrant entrepreneurs.
“We worked really hard, with negotiations between the health district and different counties to ensure that we were able to provide a pathway for many of these vendors to operate legally, but unfortunately it didn’t get signed,” Doñate explained.
Despite the setbacks, lawmakers say they plan to reintroduce some of the vetoed bills next session.
“We were elected by our communities to be representatives for our communities and we’re not going anywhere,” Gonzalez said.
The Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus said its preparing for the next session and urges Latinos to get involved with the legislative process.
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