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El Salvador Prison, Forever?

In an astounding display of contempt for the rule of law, President Donald Trump hosted Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office today said Kilmar Albrego Garcia and others who have imprisoned there by the U.S. government will not be coming back to the United States.

Furthermore, the Trump administration again stonewalled U.S. District Court, Judge Paula Xinis who ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States, backed up by the United States Supreme Court 9 to 0 ruling last week. The government said there was an “administrative error” and Garcia should not have been sent to El Salvador, yet refuse to bring him back.

On March 15, more than 250 Venezuelan and El Salvador men were sent to El Salvador’s CECOT (Terrorism Confinement Center) under the the 1798 Alien Enemies Act because the government said they were gang members of Tren de Agua or MS-13, although none of these men were offered due process or any ability to prove they were not gang members. Now there appears to be no opportunity for any of these men to be released from this foreign prison as our government claims that these are now under the jurisdiction of El Salvador and Bukele made it clear these prisoners were not being released.

And you will find this amazing, Trump indicated that American citizens (“homegrowns”) could meet the same fate.

For a full explanation of what happened in the Oval Office today, watch this post from Meidas Touch. You should be chilled by this — which seems to be the point.

April 10th 2025 Legislative Report From Previous Week

FYI On April 11, 2025 there was a deadline that removed bills that didn’t get a hearing. None of these bills were removed.

AB540 Nevada Attainable Housing Account- Governor Lombardo

The bill states the following: Nevada Attainable Housing Account and setting up of  money in accounts  requiring,  with certain  exceptions, an  eligible  entity  to  provide  or  secure certain matching funds as a condition of receiving money from the account; exempting any attainable housing project from provisions of law relating to public works and the payment of prevailing wages; requiring the Administrator of the Housing Division of the Department of  Business  and  Industry to adopt an allocation plan for attainable housing; creating and setting forth the duties of the Nevada Attainable Housing  Council;  authorizing  the Division to establish programs for the reporting of rental payments to credit reporting agencies; providing that attainable housing projects that receive financial assistance from the Nevada State Infrastructure Bank  are not subject to prevailing wage requirements; revising provisions  governing  the  sale, lease or conveyance of certain real property by the governing body of a county or city; requiring  the  governing  body of a county or city to adopt certain expedited processes relating the attainable housing; revising the definition of certain tiers of affordable housing. The bill provides that the provisions of law that require the payment of prevailing wages to skilled labor apply to any contract for construction work on a qualified project if all or part of the costs of the qualified project are paid for using a loan or other financial assistance from the bank.  

This bill provides an exception so that the requirement to pay prevailing wages  do not apply to any contract for construction work on a qualified project relating  to attainable housing if the qualified borrower demonstrates that the qualified project addresses a need for critical infrastructure in an area with a shortage of attainable housing. The bill also authorizes the bank to give a preference for approval to such a  qualified project if the qualified borrower, contractor and subcontractors agree to pay prevailing wages.

Nevada State AFL-CIO opposed the bill stating “When we talk about bridging the Nevada housing gap, there are two sides to that bridge.One side is housing supply. The other is wages sufficient to afford the housing available in your community. When the government exempts public dollars from prevailing wages, they drive down wages for the whole region, which hurts working families. When construction workers on affordable housing projects can’t afford housing themselves because they are being underpaid, the housing gap only gets wider. Solving the problem requires addressing both sides of the gap. Southern Nevada Desert Pines and Northern Nevada Carville Park Apartments are shining examples of how affordable housing should be developed, providing more than 1600 units of housing. The AFL-CIO, and its 150,000-plus members, strongly oppose AB540.

AB 81 Stop the Clock Assemblymember Hatch 

The State of Nevada exempts itself from being required to change to Daylight Saving Time. This would mean that the State would stay on Standard Time for the entire year. This would start July 1,2026. When the country started doing this more than 50 years ago,we were all on Standard time but we added Daylight Saving Time so that is the only one we can remove. This bill passed out with three nays.

AB73 Introduced, Communications relating to elections and Synthetic Media Cisco Aguilera, Secretary of State

Any communication made in support of or opposition to a candidate, group of candidates, or political party or that solicits contributions for the same, that which includes any form of synthetic media in the communication must disclose the communication in a clear and conspicuous manner. The bill states as an example, This (image/video/audio) has been manipulated. If a civil penalty is imposed for a violation of the requirements, the amount to the violation can not exceed $50,000 of each violation.

AB343 Introduced, Hospital Pricing of Goods and Services Assembly member Yeager

This bill requires hospitals to publish pricing for certain goods and services.In 2019 President Trump signed an Executive Order for this issue. Biden  issued an update to the order in 2022. Then on 2/2025 President Trump added an enforcement clause. Some of Nevada hospitals are compliant but this has been a slow process. This bill codifies similar requirements into Nevada Law. The bill requires the hospital to also publish and update annually a list of standard charges for all items and services they provide.

Mesquite City Council meeting 4/08/25 by Linda Perkowski

Ceremonial Matters – Building Safety, National public works and National Public Safety.

Telecommunicators week. Acting Chief Fails gave a presentation on how grateful we are to have those dedicated people that answer 911 calls everyday on peoples worst days. He also included our Animal Control employees and volunteers.

Public Comments – Comments were made regarding the City Managers racial slurs and comments. It seems like they are just sweeping that under the rug with a written warning from the City Mayor.

Consent Agenda – aside from the regular budget, paid bills and purchase orders there was discussion about a block grant of $254,249.00 for use on the Woodbury All Wheels Skate Park Project. This final allotment has been delayed and they are just waiting for it to go through the payment process which has slowed down a bit.

Special Items – 3.1 Presentation of Mesquite Public Arts Commission 5 year plan. Presented a five year plan to the Council. They are proceeding with trying to create a butterfly pollination area within the arts district.

The new mural on the Jimmy Hughes building in front of the Mesquite Theater is finished and very impressive.

3.2 – Presentation from George and Mindy Creamer for the purchase of 9 acres of City owned property for a strip mall at 1220 Hardy Way. I believe this is the same parcel that the pickle ball courts were presented a few weeks ago. It seems like the public is more supportive of the pickleball courts.

3.3 – Presentation from Richard Weldin on the purchase of 44.97 acres of City Owned Property near the camel refuge. He owns the adjacent property and would like to preserve the area with a rv park or something that the community could enjoy. This area is restrictive in terms of what can be built there due to it being in a flood area. Public seemed to support this plan.

3.4 and 3.5 – These were two different presentations given for the same 15 acre parcel of City owned property adjacent to the Hospital. The Hospital wants to purchase this for expansion of services and so does the Commonwealth Development Corporation for the low income Senior Housing.

The Hospital claims they did not know that the Senior Housing project was planned, however they had the first right of refusal which they let expire and have no claim to the parcel.

The Council approved the Senior Housing Development and encouraged both parties to see if they could come up with plan to allow the hospital to purchase a small portion of the parcel that is attached to another city owned parcel, however significant grading would need to be done because that parcel is on an elevated parcel of property.

4 – Appraisal for the 44.97 Acres discussed in item three were presented and the City voted that it is in the best interest of Mesquite to sell the parcel.

5 – No council or department reports.

6 – Introduction of Bills.

6.1 – Consideration of allowing changes to Mesquite Municipal Code Chapter 10 “Signs” The entire code will be rewritten to make it simple and allow small businesses some latitude with that regard. The preliminary language was discussed and will be presented in its final form at a future meeting.

7.1 Consideration of an extension of time of 24 months for “The Retreat at Mesquite” No public comments – passed.

7.2 Consideration of Police Chief residency requirement – Discussion was heard about making it a requirement for the Chief of Police to live within Mesquite City limits. Some public comment though we should grandfather clause the requirement. That was not received well and the bill passed to require COM Police Chief to live in Mesquite City Limits.

7.3 & 7.4 Public Right of Way on Canyon Crest from Canyon Crest LLC and L&B Holdings no public comment, passed.

7.5 – Consideration of Resolution adopting Contract between COM & Regional Transportation Commision of Southern Nevada for Canyon Crest Boulevard and Horizon Boulevard Roadway Improvements – no public comment – passed.

7.6 Consideration and approval of Interlocal Contract between COM and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for the Mesquite Boulevard and Sandhill Boulevard Old Mill and Overlay Project. – no public comment – passed.

8.0 Public Comments – Ann Bley gave a report on the indivisible protest on April 5th and thanked the police for their presence and our protection.

Rep. Horsford Demands Accountability Against Trump’s Potential Market Manipulation

Congressman Steven Horsford and Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, were joined by 131 Congressional Democrats in sending a letter today demanding accountability for the Trump Administration’s dramatic reversal of tariffs planned for 57 countries yesterday just hours after President Trump posted on social media that “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!”

Trump’s decision to pause tariffs predictably led the U.S. stock market to rally significantly, raising the specter of market manipulation for anyone who invested in the market as a result of Trump’s message.

Horsford and Sewell’s letter, which is addressed to the President, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, requests key details within 15 days that would clarify if market manipulation was a factor, and provide insights into the planning involved in the policy reversal. Specifically, the letter requests:

  1. 1. A timeline of deliberations regarding the tariffs;
  2. 2. Any documentation or correspondence shared with the White House or Executive Office of the President regarding the timing of the tariffs, and a list of who was informed about tariff plan changes;
  3. 3. Any communications between the USTR and financial institutions, private investors, or public relations personnel in the 72 hours before and after the April 9th announcement;
  4. 4. A description of the role the Department of Commerce played in coordinating tariff policy;
  5. 5. A description of the role the Department of the Treasury played in the interagency process leading up to the April 9th delay announcement;
  6. 6. Information about any securities purchased or sold by the President, Chair of the SEC, or any Cabinet Member between when reciprocal tariffs were announced on April 2nd through April 10th – including a description, purchase price, and/or sale price of each security.

Notably, the pause came as his Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, was in the midst of testimony to the House Ways & Means Committee in support of Trump’s tariffs. Greer had already spent four hours defending and promoting the tariffs when his staffer showed him Trump’s social media post reversing the policy. That moment of public humiliation led to a fiery exchange between Greer and Rep. Horsford about the president’s motives.

You can see the exchange here: https://youtu.be/h5wMPDuio78

SCOTUS Ruling On Detainee in El Salvador Prison

I have been tracking this story since it broke last week because it is so shocking and is not getting the attention it deserves, among the series of egregious and unlawful actions of this administration.

On March 15, more than 250 Venezuelan and El Salvador men were rushed onto planes and sent to El Salvador’s CECOT (Terrorism Confinement Center) under the auspices of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act because the government deemed them gang members of Tren de Agua or MS-13. The problem is that there was no due process identifying whether any of these men were actually part of a gang. Our government simply decided it was so, based on questionable criteria such as whether they had tattoos, and lawyers for many of these men have been arguing that their clients were unlawfully detained, were not part of any gang, were given no opportunity to plead their case before being sent to El Salvador and are now imprisoned with no judicial process by which they can be released.

Not to mention, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ordered that these planes be turned around and brought back to the United States. That order was not obeyed.

Then the case of Kilmar Albrego Garcia came to light. He is a Maryland father with protected status who is married to an American citizen and whose special needs son is an American citizen. The government admitted in U.S. District Court that his detainment was an “administrative error.” Judge Paula Xinis ordered that he be returned. The U.S. government said Garcia and the others are now in the custody of El Salvador and they can’t bring him back. Presumably ever. After all, U.S. Courts do not have jurisdiction in El Salvador.

Last night, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Judge Xinis’ order.

Watch Lawrence O’Donnel’s commentary at the beginning of last night’s show because he puts into perspective the seriousness this case and what it means for the rights of all of us. O’Donnel further explains SCOTUS’ ruling and what the consequences will be if this order is ignored.

(this segment is 18 minutes)

The Terrorists Are Here

The video is chilling. A 30-year old woman standing on the sidewalk is approached by a man dressed in dark clothing. He accosts her as five other men descend on her. They have no identifying clothing nor do they present badges or other ID. Some of them are even wearing masks to hide their identity. They vaguely claim to be the police. Without any explanation, they handcuff her and force her into an unmarked car. She is then driven away without the opportunity to contact anyone. (https://apnews.com/article/tufts-student-detained-massachusetts-immigration-6c3978da98a8d0f39ab311e092ffd892)

If you had seen this video a year ago or even six months ago, you might have thought this was taking place in some third-world country, perhaps Venezuela or Iran. Or you might have guessed it was in China or North Korea. Then you might have thought, “It can’t happen here.”

But it can happen here and, in fact, already has. This outrage against a Tufts University PhD student took place in broad daylight on the streets of Somerville, Massachusetts. The video conjures up images of totalitarian states where secret police abuse their country’s populace in order to spread fear throughout the nation.

If this video doesn’t absolutely terrify you, it should. Unfortunately, if it does terrify you, that is exactly the reaction that Trump and his minions want. The primary weapons of a cowardly bully are fear and intimidation. And Trump knows well how to wield those tools.

Our only choice is to stand together to right the wrongs being committed in our country. We must work to ensure that Trump and his enablers in the Republican party don’t destroy our Constitution and lead the U.S.A. down the path of dictatorship.

Trump Billionaire Backer Warns of Economic Nuclear War

By Michael M. McGreer

April 9, 2025

Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who backed Donald Trump for the Presidency, took to social media Sunday to ask the President to pause tariffs for 90 days.

Ackman likened Trump’s April 9 scheduled tariff launch to an economic nuclear war on every country in the world. Ackman argued that business investment will halt, consumers will close their wallets and pocketbooks, and we will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world, which will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate.

According to The Washington Post, Elon Musk, an investor in China’s market, held direct “private talks” with the President, hoping to convince him to scale back the measures.

Yesterday, Trump obeyed Ackman and put a 90-day pause into effect; he ignored Musk’s concerns and raised China’s tariffs to 125%.[i]

On Tuesday, in Las Vegas, DR. Stephen M. Miller, a University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) professor of economics, told Sky 3 News reporters that uncertainty drives everything while simultaneously warning of a potential tariff war with China and the possibility of stagflation, characterized by slow economic growth, relatively high unemployment, and rising prices.

[i] China is the world’s second-largest economy by nominal GDP and since 2016 has been the world’s largest economy when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). Chinese companies invested 28.04 billion U.S. dollars into firms in the United States in 2023 when calculated on a historical-cost basis. That year, the total foreign direct investments in the U.S. were valued at approximately 5.39 trillion U.S. dollars.

“Hands Off” rally in Mesquite

On Saturday, April 5, I attended the “Hands Off” rally in Mesquite and I want to brag about it.

Just over 200 people gathered along the bridge on Grapevine Drive. People were carrying hand made signs on the issues that were important to them. We were all just having fun and talking about the issues and how we disagree with the actions of this administration.  Everyone was peaceful and we were glad to make our voices heard.

Officers of the Mesquite Police Department ensured there was no disruption to traffic control and to keep us all safe.

Enjoy the pictures that I and others took. It was a beautiful day for a rally.

Hold On To Your Wallets

It’s difficult to predict the impacts of the latest raises in tariffs since economic projections are often little more than guesses. And there are those who, for political reasons, will simply make up numbers and throw them around as if they were facts. But there are legitimate organizations that use scientific approaches to make projections such as the Yale University Budget Lab.

This organization recently published a document entitled “Where We Stand: The Fiscal, Economic, and Distributional Effects of All U.S. Tariffs Enacted in 2025 Through April 2” (https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/where-we-stand-fiscal-economic-and-distributional-effects-all-us-tariffs-enacted-2025-through-april). The document explains the results and methodologies they used. It presents the effects of the April 2 tariff announcement separately from any earlier tariffs imposed in 2025 and then combines them.

Some of the key findings are as follows:

  1. 1. Tariffs are a regressive tax, especially in the short-run. This means that tariffs burden households at the bottom of the income ladder more than those at the top as a share of income.
  1. 2. The April 2nd action is the equivalent of a rise in the effective US tariff rate of 11 ½ percentage points. The average effective US tariff rate after incorporating all 2025 tariffs is now 22 ½%, the highest since 1909.
  1. 3. The price level from all 2025 tariffs rises by 2.3% in the short-run, the equivalent of an average per household consumer loss of $3,800 in 2024 dollars. Annual losses for households at the bottom of the income distribution are $1,700.
  1. 4. The price level from the April 2nd announcement alone rises by 1.3% in the short run, the equivalent of an average per household consumer loss of $2,100 in 2024 dollars. Annual losses for households at the bottom of the income distribution are $980 under the April 2nd policy alone.
  1. 5. Both the April 2nd tariffs themselves and all 2025 actions to date have disproportionately affected clothing and textiles. Apparel prices rise 8% from the April 2nd action alone and 17% from all US tariffs.
  1. 6. Food prices are also disproportionately affected, rising 1.6% from the April 2nd policy and 2.8% from all 2025 tariff actions. Fresh produce rises 2.2% and 4.0%, respectively.
  1. 7. Motor vehicle prices are largely untouched by the April 2nd announcement but rise by 8.4% under all tariff action to date, the equivalent of an additional $4,000 to the price of an average 2024 new car.

Another legitimate source, the Tax Foundation, has reported that a 10 percent tariff would increase taxes on US households by $1,253 on average, and a 20 percent tariff would increase taxes on US households by $2,045 on average (https://taxfoundation.org/blog/trump-tariffs-revenue-estimates/).

Our Representative, Steven Horsford, also made similar points in a recent press release. He said,

“A tariff is a tax – Donald Trump owns these taxes; he owns the harm they’re inflicting; he owns the financial instability he’s sowing for Nevadans and people across the country. Trump campaigned on lowering costs for Nevadans and people across the country – instead, he’s intentionally making everyday goods more expensive. That’s wrong.”

He then went on to say, “No president in American history has taxed the American people this much, this fast, and this recklessly.”

Do You Care About False Imprisonment?

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis told lawyers from the Trump administration to secure the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from a mega-prison in El Salvador because he was falsely imprisoned for being in a Venezuelan gang, as admitted in previous court filings. Garcia had immigration protected status, is married to an American citizen, and has a special needs child who is also an American citizen. He had no criminal record and was employed.

In response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an email, “We suggest the Judge contact President Bukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador.” In other words, nope!

Watch this podcast with Tim Miller and Sam Stein of the Bulwark for more details and reaction.

Updates on our High Priority Bills From the Sierra Club

Invertebrates AB85 The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) currently lacks the ability to conserve invertebrates like bees and butterflies- vital pollinators that are in decline across the West. This bill would give NDOW the authority to conserve and protect invertebrates across Nevada!

Committee of Natural Resources heard this bill on 2/26.

No vote to date.

Styrofoam phase out for restaurants AB244  This bill would limit styrofoam from being used in restaurants in Nevada. Styrofoam adversely impacts human health and the environment.

No vote to date.

Regional Rail AB256 Other states and cities have benefitted from having rail lines in their urban areas. This bill would create a task force to bring rail to Nevada’s urban areas, creating a more sustainable transportation option.

Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections Hearing on 3/4/25.

Work session 3/20; passed unanimously; on to the full Assembly Floor vote.

Agrivoltaics AB479 This is the practice of using the same land for both agriculture and solar energy production. This bill would open up another option for renewable energy generation in Nevada.

Hearing scheduled Tuesday April 1 in Revenue Committee.

Transit to Trails SB405 This bill would support the development of Transit to Trails programs in Nevada, helping people recreate outside in a healthier and more sustainable way.

Hearing scheduled Senate Natural Resource April 3, 2025.

Mandatory disconnection reporting AB442  This bill would require NV Energy to report on how many customer accounts they shut off each month due to nonpayment, helping us understand how electricity rates impact Nevadans. Twenty-six other states and D.C. require disconnection reporting.

No hearing scheduled yet.

Other important bills the Sierra Club is SUPPORTING:

AB80:  Soil Health

AB458: Solar on Affordable Housing

SB48: Sustainability and Resilience in Master Planning

SB260: Worker protection in poor Air Quality

SB286: Consultation with Tribes in Planning

AB456: Prohibiting Utility Disconnections

AB528: Property Tax abatements for Green Buildings

AB529: Requiring Procurement of Solar Energy Locally

SB379: Consumer protections requirements for solar lenders and installers

AB493: Recycling of EV batteries and solar components

One bill to OPPOSE:

AJR10: Encourages passage of federal SNEDCA bill (Southern Nevada sprawl). The Sierra Club strongly opposes this bill!