Henderson residents just won an important first round. At a joint meeting on Tuesday, September 29, Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader pulled a proposal that could have let U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) greatly expand its footprint at the Eldorado Valley Regional Training Facility. The City of Henderson and Boulder City run the range together for Southern Nevada law enforcement.

ICE already trains there alongside other agencies. Under the new plan, the agency would have built "shared on site training locations" at the range and leased them to other agencies when it wasn't using them, according to a city agenda document. About a dozen people came to speak against it, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada.

Chief Rader said the plan hadn't been properly reviewed and isn't allowed under the agreement between the two cities. "The proposed item cannot and will not move forward under the existing agreement," he said, as reported by The Nevada Independent.

That's real progress. But his answer is tied to the agreement as it is written today. Agreements can be renegotiated, and so far neither city has said this idea is off the table for good.

People who live in Henderson and Boulder City deserve a lasting answer and a real voice before decisions like this get made. The Henderson City Council and the Boulder City Council can deliver both. They can formally rule out expanded ICE training sites at Eldorado Valley, and they can require a public hearing before any change to the agreement that governs the range.

This isn't about party lines. It's about letting the communities that host this facility decide how it's used.

Sign the petition to ask Henderson and Boulder City to put this decision in writing before the proposal has a chance to come back.