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Federal immigration agents have made several arrests at Harry Reid International Airport over the past few months, and one of the more recent cases involved a staff member who works for a California lawmaker.
Local officials are frustrated that the county department that runs the airport isn’t told when these arrests happen, leaving them unsure how often the activity occurs or how people are being selected.
The case that drew the most attention lately happened on September 17, when ICE agents arrested Ho Yin Mo at the airport. Mo works for California Assemblywoman Catherine Stefani, and ICE said he had stayed in the country past the date allowed on his visa. That arrest was part of a series of similar encounters.
On August 19, agents took Jialiang Wei into custody after he stepped off an Alaska Airlines flight. Wei is a Chinese national who was visiting from Hawaii and had a pending asylum claim. Earlier in July, agents arrested Nqobile Malangeni of South Africa while she was getting ready to board a flight to Connecticut.
Another July incident involved Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian citizen who was born in Vietnam. ICE agents tried to arrest him in Terminal 3 but left before they finished. Metro Police officers who responded found Nguyen still wearing a handcuff on one wrist.
They removed it and notified ICE. The agency later said it arrested Nguyen the next day at Los Angeles International Airport for overstaying his visa.
Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom has said local leaders need a clearer picture of how often ICE is operating at the airport and how agents decide who to stop. While he knows the county has limited power over a federal agency, he believes officials should explore ways to make these operations harder at the airport.
U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen has also spoken up. She contacted the Department of Homeland Security in August about ICE activity at Harry Reid, and after Mo’s arrest, she said her office found the situation troubling.
Adding to the picture, the Transportation Security Administration began sharing passenger information with ICE in May 2025. A TSA spokesperson told the Las Vegas Sun that this kind of information sharing is seen as important for keeping the aviation system secure.
Concerns About Tourism and Community Impact
Some local leaders and immigration attorneys are worried about the wider effects these arrests may have. Visits to Las Vegas dropped 7.5 percent in 2025, and both Rosen and Segerblom have pointed out the risk of creating fear among visitors and residents. Segerblom noted that Las Vegas depends heavily on tourism, so anything that makes people hesitate to travel here is a real concern.
Michael Kagan, who directs the UNLV Immigration Clinic, said airports are no longer safe places for people with uncertain immigration status, especially those who may think a pending application protects them from enforcement.
What starts as a normal trip through the airport can suddenly turn into a serious legal problem. If you or someone in your family has been stopped, questioned, or detained by immigration agents at Harry Reid or anywhere else in the Las Vegas area, leave your details on the contact form.
We will review what happened and walk you through the next steps in clear, straightforward terms.
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