BOISE, ID – In February 2024, Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, introduced a bill to prevent unauthorized immigrants from accessing publicly-funded assistance — requiring state agencies to verify immigration status for services like vaccines, prenatal and postnatal care, and food aid for children.
His bill was met with bipartisan concerns that it would hurt pregnant women, mothers and their children who don’t have proper immigration paperwork alike. That group of legislators voted to hold the bill in the committee, effectively killing the bill for the remainder of the 2024 legislative session.
However, Redman brought the bill back in 2025 — this time as House Bill 135. It passed both legislative chambers by a wide margin, and Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed it into law on April 3. It is set to take effect July 1.
Driven by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, Idaho lawmakers have reintroduced and advanced a wave of immigration-related bills this year. Among them is House Bill 135 — one of two bills revived in 2025 that gained enough support to pass, contributing to at least seven immigration-focused bills introduced this year.
Dr. Noreen Womack, a pediatrician at St. Luke’s, said she believes House Bill 135 will significantly impact health care for children who come to the U.S. without proper immigration paperwork. Immunization rates are already low in Idaho, and she said this bill would exacerbate that.
“Children are completely blameless in this,” she said, noting that she serves many youth who do not have legal permission to be in the U.S. “It was not their decision to come here.”
Womack’s concerns reflect similar concerns around Idaho’s 2025 wave of immigration-related bills. In addition to House Bill 135, here is a rundown of the bills focused on regulating immigration in the Gem State, and where each bill stands after the Idaho Legislature’s 2025 session.
Idaho governor says causing fear would be ‘counterintuitive’ to purpose of House Bill 83
House Bill 83, another revived bill, was signed into law this year.
It creates new crimes called “illegal entry” and “illegal reentry.” Law enforcement would only be able to convict someone of those crimes if they are suspected for a separate crime. It also creates the crime of “trafficking a dangerous illegal alien.” The bill was signed into law by the governor on March 27, but a lawsuit from the ACLU of Idaho has temporarily blocked it from taking effect.
In a press conference with reporters and legislative leadership on March 31, Little said the focus of the bill is to help the Trump administration deliver its immigration goals, while also focusing on targeting criminals.
House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, said the legislation is “a step in the right direction.”
“We’re talking about individuals that are here illegally, not supposed to be here in the first place, and then they break the law,” Moyle said at the conference. “This now gives us an opportunity to work more with the feds, and it gives us an opportunity to take the worst of the worst that are in this country illegally and send them back to where they came from and keep our community safe.”
But opponents of the bill say the law would cause fear and discourage unauthorized immigrants in Idaho from reporting crimes they’ve witnessed or are experiencing.
“That would be counterintuitive to the intent if we made people fearful,” Little said in response to those concerns. “Our goal is to keep everybody here safe, and that’s what this piece of legislation is.”
Idaho State Police Lt. Colonel Fritz Zweigart reinforced the idea that the bill is focused on targeting criminals.
“We are going to focus on the crime that’s reported, not necessarily that’s reporting the crime, unless they’re of course involved in the criminal activity,” Zweigart said at the press conference.
Still, domestic violence advocates in Idaho say these laws will prevent immigrant victims from seeking help.
“What you’re going to see is reporting is going to go down because they don’t want to be in trouble for reporting a crime if they do not have papers,” Teena McBride, the executive director of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center in Idaho Falls, told the Sun. “And what you start to see is that the intensity of the violence is going to increase.”
Angelica Soto, director of client care at Voices Against Violence in Twin Falls, said she has noticed growing fear among immigrant clients seeking appointments, support groups, or services like food boxes and personal care items.
“We have to get creative in some way with the clients that don’t feel safe coming in person,” Soto told the Sun.
Bills introduced, but not passed in Idaho Legislature
The following is a list of bills introduced during the session that either failed to receive a hearing or were held in committee and did not advance.
Harboring unauthorized immigrants
House Bill 335 would have made it a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on how many people are involved, to help, hide or transport unauthorized immigrants.
Sponsor: Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood
Status: Held in committee on March 5
Collecting students’ immigration status
House Bill 382 would have added immigration status and nationality to the demographic data collected by Idaho public schools, ranging from K-12 schools, higher education institutions and public career technical schools. It would have required the data to be available on the state department of education’s website.
Sponsors: Rep. Steve Tanner, R-Nampa; Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood
Status: It did not receive a committee hearing. Sponsors pulled the bill from the agenda the day it was set to receive a hearing because it lacked support, KTVB reported.
E-Verify requirements
House Bill 252 would have required all Idaho employers to use E-Verify, a program meant to check a person’s legal work status.
Sponsor: Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene
Status: Introduced, did not receive a hearing
State guest worker program
House Bill 297 would have created a year-round guest worker program managed by the state.
Sponsors: Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg; Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa
Status: Introduced, did not receive a hearing
No voting for non-citizens
House Bill 94 would have required that only citizens vote in federal, state, local and public elections in Idaho. (Non-U.S. citizens are already not allowed to vote in nearly all U.S. elections, but some places outside of Idaho allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections.)
Sponsors: Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa
Status: Introduced, did not receive a hearing
