Nevada Democrats Vote Against Bill To Deport Illegal Aliens Convicted of Welfare Fraud

In a rare display of common-sense governance amid a border crisis engineered by the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1958, the Deporting Fraudsters Act, by a vote of 231-186 on Wednesday. 

The bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act and mandates automatic deportation for illegal aliens convicted of committing welfare fraud or stealing public benefits meant for American taxpayers and legal residents. Covered offenses include fraud involving SNAP (food stamps), Social Security benefits, Medicaid, other federally funded programs, and the production of fraudulent identification documents. 

The legislation aims to protect taxpayer-funded resources from abuse by illegal aliens, ensuring swift removal rather than prolonged legal proceedings or continued access to benefits intended for American citizens and legal residents.

Yet, once again, Nevada’s Democratic congressional delegation chose to stand with lawbreakers over the hardworking families of the Silver State.

Nevada’s lone Republican representative from Northern Nevada, Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-2), voted YES to protect American taxpayers. 

All three Las Vegas-based Nevada Democrats—Rep. Dina Titus (NV-1), Rep. Susie Lee (NV-3), and Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-4)—voted NO, effectively shielding illegal aliens who defraud welfare programs from automatic removal. These are the same members who have repeatedly prioritized open-border policies over Nevada’s sovereignty, fiscal sanity, and safety.

This vote isn’t an outlier. 

We need more tourists, not terrorists. https://t.co/f0tBZirCjO

— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) February 2, 2026

As the California Globe previously reported, Nevada Democrats have united in outrage over ICE operations and pushed to defund and restrict federal agents enforcing immigration laws. Titus publicly referred to ICE agents as “terrorists.”

Her Nevada Democratic colleagues, including Senator Jacky Rosen and Rep. Horsford, have similarly labeled ICE actions as “terrorizing” and are on the record supporting sanctuary state policies.

Their opposition to the Deporting Fraudsters Act follows the same pattern of placing illegal aliens above Nevada taxpayers already burdened by inflation, housing shortages, and strained social services.

The bill’s passage sends a clear message: fraud against the American welfare system by those who entered the country illegally will no longer be tolerated with a mere slap on the wrist. Yet Nevada’s Democratic trio stood in the way, joining 183 other mostly Democrat “no” votes. 

This comes just months after the California Globe exposed how Rep. Susie Lee took credit for defense provisions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” while voting against the very legislation that funded them. Last September, Lee voted against the Stop Illegal Entry Act, a bill to harshen prison sentences for illegal immigrants convicted of repeatedly entering the United States illegally or entering the country and committing a felon

It also follows the DOJ’s signing of a new immigration enforcement agreement with Nevada, which these same Democrats have undermined at every turn. 

This vote occurs against the backdrop of Nevada’s significant illegal immigrant population and associated issues highlighted in California Globe coverage.

According to reports, Nevada has seen an increase of 562 percent in the state’s illegal immigrant population since 2021. In Nevada, during the four years of the Biden administration, rents skyrocketed, but since January of this year, they have declined by an average of three percent.

“The research literature has generally found that increases in immigration raise state and local governments’ spending — particularly on education, health care, and housing — more than their revenues,” according to a report by Numbers USA. According to FAIR US, in 2023 illegal immigration cost Nevada taxpayers an estimated $2 billion, or nearly $2,000 per Nevada household annually.

Estimates place Nevada’s undocumented population at approximately 199,000, representing nearly 10 percent of the state’s roughly 3.2 million residents—one of the highest shares in the nation. This figure has been cited in multiple reports, underscoring the strain on housing, public resources and services in a state already facing fiscal pressures.

As Republicans flee California’s failed progressive policies for Nevada—seeking lower taxes, safer streets, and actual border security—the state’s Democratic representatives are doubling down on the same failed ideology that drove that exodus in the first place. 

Nevadans deserve representatives who vote to deport fraudsters, secure the border, and put American citizens first—not coddle those gaming the system. With H.R. 1958 now headed to the Senate, it is unlikely that Nevada’s Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jacky Rosen will finally get on the right side of history before taxpayers foot yet another bill for unchecked illegal immigration. 

The Globe will continue to monitor the bill’s progress.