At the end of their sentences, inmates who do not have authorization to be in U.S. will be transported to ICE facilities for deportation, not returned to their community
BOISE, ID – A board chaired by Idaho Gov. Brad Little approved a $300,000 request on Tuesday to pay for Idaho State Police to transport people who have been convicted of a crime and do not have legal authorization to be in the United States to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers for deportation.
The Idaho State Board of Examiners voted unanimously to approve the request without any discussion during a meeting Tuesday morning at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Funding to not exceed $300,000 will come from the Governor’s Emergency Fund, which will be used to reimburse Idaho State Police personnel for providing transportation to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detention centers.
Tuesday’s vote was significant because state officials said the first ICE transports could not begin until funding was approved. Now that funding has been approved, the transports to ICE detention facilities can begin.
Idaho to participate in 287(g) immigration program
Little announced the new partnership between Idaho State Police and ICE on June 5.
Idaho is participating in the jail enforcement model under the 287(g) program, which allows ICE to delegate specific immigration functions to state or local law enforcement agencies such as Idaho State Police, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
Before Idaho State Police entered into a partnership with ICE, the Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office became the first agency in Idaho to partner with ICE, InvestigateWest reported.
Trump directs ICE to target 3 big Democratic cities for raids
When the Idaho State Police partnership was announced earlier this month, state officials said they would only target and transport people who have been convicted of a crime in Idaho and are finishing their sentence or incarceration period.
Instead of releasing those people back to the community when they complete their sentence, those individuals will be transported to an ICE detention center such as the Jefferson County Detention Center in Rigby, state officials said.
Little said Idaho would target people convicted of violent crimes and felonies, as well as people who have been convicted of driving under the influence, which is a misdemeanor.
“Idaho is stepping up to help the Trump administration transport dangerous illegal alien criminals to ICE facilities instead of being released back into our communities,” Little said in a written statement June 5. “These are people who have committed crimes such as domestic violence, robbery, driving under the influence, and other dangerous activities that threaten Idaho families. Idaho has taken many steps to increase our coordination with the Trump administration in the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws, and I want to further strengthen our state’s partnership with President Trump to help address the national emergency posed by years of reckless border policies under the Biden-Harris administration.”
It was not immediately clear which specific people will be targeted and transported for deportation or how many people in Idaho will be processed for deportation.
However, state officials said they will be able to transport “hundreds” of people under the ICE partnership.
ICE in Idaho faces some pushback
There was no discussion or public comment about the new Idaho State Police/ICE partnership during Tuesday’s Idaho State Board of Examiners meeting.
However, during Saturday’s “No Kings Day” protest against President Donald Trump at the Idaho State Capitol, several public speakers and protestors spoke out against ICE raids and carried signs in opposition to ICE.
ACLU of Idaho officials have also spoken out against the new partnership between Idaho State Police and ICE.
“ICE and local law enforcement partnerships deteriorate trust, harm families, and can lead to constitutional violations,” ACLU of Idaho Executive Director Leo Morales said in a written statement June 5. “This new partnership will intimidate and cause real trauma to our immigrant community. Immigrants make our communities stronger, and they deserve to be treated with dignity. Nothing will ever change the fact that immigrants belong in Idaho.”
The new Idaho State Police/ICE partnership implements portions of House Bill 83, a Texas-syle immigration law that the ACLU of Idaho filed a lawsuit in opposition to.
Before announcing the new Idaho State Police/ICE partnership, Little issued an executive order calling for the state to continue collaborating with ICE and encouraging state agencies to assist with enforcing immigration laws.
Immigrants who do not have legal authorization to be in the United States are a key part of Idaho’s economy and agriculture industry, according to a 2024 report from the University of Idaho’s McClure Center for Public Policy Research.
The Idaho dairy industry, which reports nearly $11 billion in total sales, says 90% of dairy jobs are held by Spanish-speaking workers who were not born in the U.S., many of whom do not have legal authorization to be in the United States.
The Idaho State Board of Examiners is made up of Idaho’s governor, attorney general and secretary of state, with the state controller serving as the secretary. The Idaho State Board of Examiners was created in the Idaho Constitution, and the board has the authority to “examine all claims against the state, except salaries or compensation of officers fixed by law …”
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.
