Gov. Little signs Idaho bill on immigration enforcement. ACLU immediately sues to stop it

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Idaho lawmakers this session have said they want to make Idaho unwelcome for undocumented immigrants.

Now, local police could be part of immigration enforcement, which historically has been under the authority of the U.S. government.

Gov. Brad Little on Thursday morning signed House Bill 83, which allows local police into federal territory by creating new state crimes of illegal entry and illegal re-entry, said Emily Callihan, Little’s communications director.

The new law was immediately met by a legal challenge, with the ACLU saying in a news release that HB 83 “violates the Constitution” and “attempts to supersede federal immigration mandates by, in effect, enabling local law enforcement to act as immigration agents.”

The ACLU filed its lawsuit Thursday.

“House Bill 83 is consistent with my executive order earlier this year to crack down on illegal immigration and make good on President Trump’s promise to protect our country,” Little said in a statement. “I am proud to work closely with my legislative partners to support President Trump’s efforts to ensure the immigration laws on the books are enforced and to deport illegal immigrants who pose the greatest danger to our citizens.”

Police may enforce the new law if they first detain or investigate an undocumented immigrant for a separate crime.

“We have to make Idaho an undesirable place for people who are here in our country illegally,” Sen. Phil Hart, R-Kellogg, said while debating the bill.

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Another legislator, Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, claimed the bill would be “a deterrent” for undocumented immigrants to move to Idaho.

Lawmakers removed part of the bill that would have allowed judges to order undocumented immigrants to return to their home country. But under the new law, police must notify the Department of Homeland Security if they arrest someone and determine that the individual is undocumented.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided that the powers of immigration enforcement belonged to the federal government in 1875, when justices ruled that a California law to allow a state official to inspect immigrants arriving by sea was unconstitutional, according to the Federal Judicial Center.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho first indicated two weeks ago it would sue the state over the law. Ruby Mendez-Mota, ACLU of Idaho campaign strategist, said Thursday the bill was clearly racially motivated.

“This bill does not make anyone safer,” Mendez-Mota previously said. “This bill will fuel racial profiling, weaponize accusations against Latinos in Idaho, and make anyone who doesn’t appear to be white feel less safe.”

National estimates have ranged that around 30,000-35,000 undocumented immigrants live in Idaho. A report published by the University of Idaho last year, which was funded by Idaho agriculture associations, said that population has remained stable for the past several years, and that they meet labor needs, particularly on farms, and contribute to the local economy through their spending.

Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, said the group supports the bill. A first version of the proposal would have targeted all immigrants who entered the country without proper authorization, he said. Now, the legislation is directed at those in custody or under investigation for a separate crime.

“Is it perfect? No,” Naerebout told the Statesman. “Was it a good compromise, and did the bill sponsors come a long way meeting us in the middle? Yeah.”

Immigration and border security became a top issue for voters last year, according to Gallup, but Americans are now split on whether President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts have gone too far, according to the Pew Research Center.

Since taking office in January, Trump and his administration have issued a variety of anti-immigration orders, including those that send undocumented immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, end birthright citizenship and eliminate temporary protected status for people from certain countries like Venezuela. Many of his actions on immigration have been challenged in court.

Paul Carlos Southwick, the ACLU of Idaho’s legal director, said in a news release that Idaho “cannot enforce this unconstitutional law. Every other court to have considered similar laws, including conservative federal appellate courts, has stopped laws like this one from going into effect.”

Raquel Reyes, PODER of Idaho’s director of programs and operations, said creating the new state law was “inhumane.” PODER is a local group dedicated to immigrant and Latino communities. She said “fear-mongering” has led to people viewing Latinos and people of color as criminals.

“We should be treated as human beings,” Reyes told the Statesman. The bills coming from the Legislature “instill fear in our community,” Reyes said.

Idaho bill would bar public assistance for undocumented immigrants

House Bill 83 was far from the only proposal targeting immigrants that lawmakers have tried to pass this session, though many have failed because of legal and logistical challenges.

Another measure, House Bill 135, would prohibit allowing some services for undocumented immigrants, including prenatal care, but still allow for emergency care. It still needs approval from the Senate and governor to become law.

The legislation would require government agencies to establish that someone is a lawful resident to access public assistance — such as when new mothers seek medical care, or when someone’s seeking a vaccine or food for a child.

It’s unclear how much money the government might save with the bill, according to the bill’s statement of purpose.

Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, who co-sponsored the bill, said it would act as a deterrent to prevent people from coming to Idaho.

“We don’t want people dying,” Redman said. “But we don’t want to necessarily make it a place where people want to come for safe haven.”

At an emotional public hearing, several opposed taking basic care away from anyone who needs it. That included some Republican lawmakers and Christian Welp, a lobbyist for the Catholic Church.

“We are a Christian nation. … These are people who need help when they need help,” said Rep. Ben Fuhriman, R-Shelley. “It’s sad that we’re attacking them in this way.”

Education officials say collecting student info is illegal

Another bill that was introduced in March would have tried to collect students’ immigration status and nationality, similar to an Oklahoma proposal to ask students and parents for citizenship status. Oklahoma’s governor shut the attempt down.

It’s against federal law to ask about students’ immigration status, according to Scott Graf, Idaho Department of Education spokesperson.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield in an emailed statement also said that “we may be best served as a state to wait for action from the federal level before we try to implement something of this nature.”

The sponsors pulled it off a committee agenda about a week later because it needed work, said Rep. Steve Tanner, R-Nampa, who co-sponsored the bill. He said the bill won’t return this legislative session.

Bill on harboring immigrants would impact attorneys

Immigration attorneys told lawmakers that a bill to make it illegal to conceal, help or harbor undocumented immigrants would have made providing legal help a crime.

Several lawyers, a representative of the Catholic Church and Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford all showed up to testify against House Bill 335. Clifford said law enforcement must be able to speak with undocumented crime victims, while Welp said priests who hear that someone is undocumented during confession would be breaking the law.

“This would essentially make all of us felons,” said Nikki Ramirez-Smith, a Nampa-based immigration lawyer.

The bill failed in a legislative committee.

Idaho farmers and immigrant workers

Two Idaho lawmakers this session tried to help solve labor shortages with a bill to create a year-round agricultural guest worker program. The bill has not received a hearing.

House Bill 297 would require employers to register with the Idaho Department of Labor, and employees would need to complete a background check and submit fingerprints. But there would be no change to employees’ immigration status and they could not obtain driving privileges.

Gov. Brad Little told reporters, “I don’t see that in my constitution.”

States legally may not do much on immigration issues.

“We would struggle to recommend to our members or their employees to participate in the bill,” said Naerebout, the Idaho Dairymen’s Association CEO. “Clearly, it would create a list of employees and employers that you have an unauthorized worker.”

States do have “significant latitude” on employment law, co-sponsor Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, told the Statesman.

“This is an issue that is not going to go away,” Raybould said.

Farmers, including those in Idaho, have struggled with a shortage of workers willing to take on physically demanding jobs that often come with low wages, and they’ve often relied on immigrants with temporary visas for that work. There is no current year-round federal guest worker program, which has caused problems when businesses aren’t seasonal or when essential workers’ visas are delayed.

In one instance, in 2021, a farmer on the Oregon-Idaho state line lost $180,000 because the business’ guest workers weren’t allowed entry in time for the asparagus harvest, according to The Washington Post.

Previous attempts to pass federal legislation for year-round visas for agricultural workers, some of which was co-sponsored by Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, have failed.

Meanwhile, lawmakers also introduced House Bill 252, which would have required Idaho employers to use E-Verify, a federal verification system, to determine whether their employees were allowed to be in the United States. The legislation hasn’t advanced. In the Legislature’s budget-setting committee, lawmakers voted to require the Idaho Department of Labor to write a report about the potential costs and benefits of E-Verify.

“This language is an attempt to really get some information, some data on how it works in other states, what the impact is,” Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told the Statesman. “I think the intent is for us to get information back that would inform a policy choice next year.”

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