Business leaders on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe are not worried about how mass deportations could affect them, which directly conflicts with locals who are afraid of finding themselves on the other side of the southern border.

Undocumented residents in the area are worried—even more so than in 2015 when Donald Trump was president-elect the first time.

“In general I feel there is more talk and more fear, and more feelings of uncertainty this time around than eight years ago,” Tere Tibbetts said. “If nothing else, because they have heard more about it. For months we’ve heard about deporting millions of people.”

The 81-year-old who emigrated from Cuba to the United States in 1970 is an integral part of the South Shore community. She was a ski patroller at Heavenly Mountain Resort, and taught in Lake Tahoe Unified schools and at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Today she is an advocate for immigrants, and works closely with the college and Family Resource Center.

“The documenteds are scared what is going to happen to their people. In almost every family there is one or two or three that are not documented,” Tibbetts said. “Everybody knows somebody.”

Deportations are not a new concept, but mass ones are.

According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, the Bush and Obama administrations each deported 400,000 people in a year, while the first Trump administration never hit the 300,000 mark in a year.

On the Mexico side of the wall with the United States are images of hope. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Business community

Neither of the two South Shore chambers of commerce’s boards has discussed what happens to member businesses if the workforce is depleted by deportations.

For starters, no one has a grasp on how many are in Lake Tahoe illegally, working or not.

The Pew Research Center in 2022 estimated the U.S. was home to more than 11 million illegal immigrants.

The nonpartisan fact tank says unauthorized immigrants represented about 4.8 percent of the U.S. workforce that year. The peak was 5.4 percent in 2007. Two years ago 9 percent of Nevada’s workers were here illegally, while in California it was 7 percent.

“I’m not an expert on the subject matter, but I suspect there will possibly be some impacts on staffing levels on some businesses, but I have no direct knowledge of anything,” said Steve Teshara, government affairs liaison for Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce. “We don’t get too far into the detail of whom works for whom.”

Even so, he deplores what is being proposed by the incoming administration.

“Speaking as an American citizen, I don’t think mass deportation is a good strategy,” Teshara said. “Someone once said immigrants are America’s secret sauce. They are doing work that makes the economy go around.”

Duane Wallace, executive director of South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, is equally passionate about the topic, but not in alignment with Teshara.

As a substitute teacher at Bijou Community School, Wallace interacts with a swath of Latino youngsters.

“What I tell some of the older kids who are worried about seeing relatives being sent back, is I say don’t you lock your door at night? I say don’t you think the country should have a door?” Wallace said.

He wants people to come here through proper channels and wants Trump to honor his word by emptying the prisons of criminals who aren’t in the U.S. legally.

Wallace didn’t say what should happen to those kids he teaches who are here legally but have parents who aren’t, or the ones who have been here their whole lives and have no memory of the country they were born in.

Wallace believes undocumented people take jobs from others in Tahoe, bring down wages, and make the housing situation worse.

The South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association has not agendized the threat of deportation and potential impacts.

The South Tahoe Restaurant Association, an arm of the larger chamber, has also not discussed the topic. One member said to do so would imply a restaurant is employing people who are in the country illegally.

Amber Reinholdt, attorney with Tahoe Immigration Law in South Lake Tahoe, countered that sentiment: “Typically the employers don’t know. It is in their interest to not know if someone is undocumented or not, though they may have a feeling. The reality is people use a lot of fake documentation.”

No one from Caesars Entertainment, which operates Harrah’s and Harveys casinos in Stateline, returned calls or emails.

Many illegals who work in Nevada’s casinos are hired through a third party which means the gaming companies can plead ignorant if caught employing an undocumented person.

Tibbetts and Reinholdt agree many local undocumenteds work in the tourism industry—casinos, restaurants and hotels.

A misconception is undocumented workers don’t pay taxes. They do. They have all the same taxes taken out as any W-2 employee does. Only that bogus Social Security card won’t allow them to tap into the system when they are older.

Plus, everyone pays sales tax.

Reinholdt tells her clients to speak with a licensed tax person, to tell them the truth, and to file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) issued by the IRS. ITINs are for non-U.S. citizens without a Social Security number.

One of the signs from the 2017 women’s march on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Sanctuary v. enforcement

Cody Bass wants South Lake Tahoe to be a sanctuary city.

Bass was mayor when this story was written. The councilman wants this elected body in 2025 to discuss becoming a sanctuary city.

A sanctuary city, county or state is one that protects immigrants and does not share information with federal law enforcement. Trump and his people are looking at ways to punish sanctuary cities and states that receive federal dollars.

El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine brought the topic up when she ran for council in 2015.

“I actually sat down and spoke with many immigrants who live and work in the city and were very afraid that they might be deported or other members of their family might be deported,” Laine said. “These are people who worked two and three jobs and had children in the schools that were born in South lake Tahoe.”

Being a sanctuary city has never made it onto a City Council agenda.

Senate Bill 54, which took effect Jan. 1, 2018, made California a sanctuary state. At the time El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini was adamantly opposed to the law and said he would not abide by it. The sheriff’s department’s and county’s spokespeople did not respond to inquiries.

South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Dave Stevenson said now is no different than when the threat of deportations circulated eight years ago.

“There are a lot of California state laws that prohibit state and local law enforcement from participating with ICE,” Stevenson said. “Immigration status does not show up on the checks we do. If they have a warrant, they have a warrant. Warrants do not have immigration status.”

He knows of one instance when SLTPD helped ICE; this involved a person wanted in Mexico on homicide charges. It’s cases like that where state law allows local California officers to cooperate with immigration agents.

Across the state line, Sheriff Dan Corley said, “The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is committed to upholding the law and ensuring the safety of our community. As part of this commitment, we cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) consistent with our mission to protect and serve all members of our community.”

Because California and Nevada differ dramatically when it comes to interacting with ICE caution is being advised.

“I’m telling people to stay low key; maybe this is not the time to get in a car and travel to another state. I tell them to be more careful if they cross the state line into Nevada,” Tibbetts said. “If you are going to get stopped in a car, it is better to be in California and not Nevada.”

Reinholdt, the immigration attorney, echoes those concerns.

“In California I don’t worry about my clients being transported to ICE. For my Nevada clients it’s a different story,” she said. “I expect to see more transfers to ICE authorities in Nevada in the next four years.”

Opportunities of hope  

In early December, Stevenson spoke at the Family Resource Center (FRC) to address questions about what happens if ICE agents come to town because Director Karen Goldberg said more of her clients are acknowledging they are scared about what the future may bring.

This nonprofit helps anyone in need and never asks their legal status. Help can be to learn English, to navigate living in a different country, translation, getting health care or something else.

Reinholdt was at Lake Tahoe Community College last month talking to students about their rights. She expects more of these gatherings to occur throughout the region in the coming months.

Her motto is to “control the controllables” which in some ways means don’t buy into the hysteria, the false narratives, but be smart and informed.

The attorney says, “I’m really urging people if you are a resident, to become a citizen. You absolutely do want to become a citizen if you have that eligibility. Once you are a citizen, your rights are protected. They cannot take that away from you. If you are undocumented and have no status, I say get screened by an immigration attorney.”

People have rights per the Constitution no matter their status.

While Jeff DeFranco, president of LTCC, was not available for this story, in the past he has said, “Lake Tahoe Community College remains committed to serving all students, regardless of their backgrounds or immigration status. We are committed to providing them with a safe learning environment. And, we will continue to protect the private information that all of our students provide in the college application and registration process.”

No one from Douglas County School District returned calls.

LTUSD Superintendent Todd Cutler said, “I see my job and the job of our team to make sure the students in our schools are safe and protected, and that is our intention. Schools are a safe place for children and that is not the place for ICE to take kids away.”

Undocumented people who are sick or injured have nothing to worry about if they go to Barton Health for care.

“We treat every individual who enters the emergency department regardless of background or circumstances,” spokesperson Mindi Befu said. “Barton Health does not ask for or document any information about a patient’s immigration status.”

Tibbetts has recently ordered more “red cards” which provide information in English and Spanish (and come in nearly every language imaginable) to advice people of their rights. These cards are applicable to citizens and non-citizens.

They say: “I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door. I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights. I choose to exercise my constitutional right.”

Note: A version of this story first appeared in the Tahoe Mountain News.