Nevada Democrats Oppose Enhanced Background Checks on Foreign Travelers
Posted on: January 19, 2026, 12:38h.
Last updated on: January 19, 2026, 12:48h.
- Nevada Democrats are opposed to more stringent entry procedures for foreigners
- The federal government is considering forcing foreigners to provide more information on their applications
Nevada’s congressional delegation is controlled 5-1 by Democrats. The majority recently wrote United States Homeland Security Director Krisi Noem and US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott to oppose the federal government’s plan to enhance background checks on foreigners seeking to enter the country.
Noem and Scott have proposed overhauling the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). The program is reserved for residents of foreign countries on the Visa Waiver Program who seek to visit the US for less than 90 days. There are currently 41 countries on the Visa Waiver Program, including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany.
The CBP and Homeland Security published their proposed ESTA changes through a Federal Register notice on December 10. The publication initiated a 60-day comment period. Federal officials have suggested requiring the disclosure of additional information from ESTA applicants, such as all social media, email, and other digital accounts they’ve used over the past five years.
Nevada’s US Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, along with US Reps. Steven Horsford (Las Vegas), Dina Titus (Las Vegas), and Susie Lee (Las Vegas) say the proposal will only further hurt Nevada and Las Vegas’ tourism industries, which they say are already suffering under the Trump administration.
Travel Barriers
Las Vegas visitor volume numbers were down over 7% in 2025. Nevada’s congressional delegation, aside from the lone Republican in Rep. Mark Amodei (Carson City), has blamed President Donald Trump for Southern Nevada’s headwinds.
The Nevada Democrats say tariffs and Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state have kept many visitors from the north away. Adding requirements to the ESTA process, they argue, will result in many more would-be travelers from patronizing Nevada.
If finalized, the proposal would fundamentally alter the ESTA process by requiring travelers, in addition to five years of social media identifiers, to submit telephone numbers used over the previous five years; email addresses used over the previous ten years; detailed personal information about immediate family members — including names, dates, and places of birth, residences, and contact information; and expanded biometric identifiers, the Democrats’ letter to Noem and Scott read.
The Nevada Democratic delegation claims it supports the government’s efforts to “enhance identity verification, threat detection, and border security.” But they believe the “breadth of this data collection could deter lawful, international visitors and impose significant new barriers to travel.”
Along with leisure travelers, the federal lawmakers say the ESTA overhaul would have devastating impacts on business and convention travel.
“International travelers account for 12% of all visitations and 26% of overall visitor spending. Even small declines in international travel would have an outsized and disproportionate impact on Nevada’s economy,” Cortez Masto, Rosen, Horsford, Titus, and Lee wrote.
‘Unnecessary Barriers’
The federal government under the second Trump administration has made sweeping changes to almost every facet of the immigration process. The president and ICE continue to seek out illegal immigrants with violent records across the country.
The Nevada Democrats say the proposed guidelines bring “unnecessary barriers” for foreign entry.
“We request the [government] meaningfully engage with relevant stakeholders — including state and local leaders and representatives of the travel and hospitality industry — to ensure any final policy strikes an appropriate balance between safeguarding national security and preserving the economic vitality of states like Nevada,” the appeal concluded.
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