BOISE, ID – After more than 30 years on the Idaho Human Rights Commission, Estella Zamora was terminated this week after Gov. Brad Little withdrew her re-appointment without warning.

Her termination and Little’s withdrawal came amid a social media and conservative blogger uproar over Facebook posts Zamora made that were critical of actions by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Zamora never directly received from Little’s office the reason her appointment was withdrawn, but she was aware of the online response to her posts. She said she notified Little’s office when she learned of the response to her posts.

“I’ve always thought that my position on the commission is to protect and educate regarding people’s rights,” Zamora said in a phone interview Thursday. “I’m out here protecting and making sure people are able to voice their opinions and to express themselves and do what is right. But then I’m basically muzzled, I guess, for doing the job that I was appointed to do.”

Little’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

Governor’s office directed state agency heads to coordinate before engaging in politics

Zamora’s termination occurred within a year in which state agency and commission leaders were told to proceed with caution regarding politics.

In early January, an email from Little’s chief of staff to agency heads directed all executive branch leaders to contact a governor’s office liaison before “committing or attending any political events (fundraisers for candidate or issues, ballot initiative events, etc.),” according to the email the Sun received via public records request.

“This applies during and after the legislative session,” Little’s Chief of Staff Zach Hague wrote. “You are an extension of Governor Brad Little, with that comes added responsibility. You are an extension of the Governor and the office, coordination is paramount.”

Zamora said she never saw or heard about the memo, and that it hadn’t been the message since she was first appointed to the commission by then-Gov. Cecil Andrus. She said she “couldn’t stay quiet” given some of the actions by ICE, especially in Minneapolis, where agents shot and killed two people recently.

“It’s awful that people’s rights are being violated, right and left,” Zamora said. “And they’re grabbing people off the street. It’s not right. I can’t support that, and I can’t stay quiet.”

In September, a state employee for the Human Rights Commission was dismissed following a social media post about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the Idaho Press reported. The former employee, David Berriochoa, said he wrote “Charlie is burning” on Instagram.

Zamora’s reappointment quickly withdrawn after social media response 

Zamora, a Caldwell resident, received her reappointment to her position on the commission around early December. That reappointment letter was the last communication she’s received from the governor’s office, she said.

Zamora stood before the Senate State Affairs Committee on Jan. 28 and answered questions about her work in her appointment hearing. The committee would need to approve her appointment and send it to the full Senate for confirmation for her to retain her position.

Sen. Ben Adams, R-Nampa, asked at the hearing if she’d seen immigration issues arise on the commission. Zamora responded that she could only remember one from the late 1990s in which there was a language issue that involved immigrants.

Her appointment never returned for a vote.

Her hearing caught the attention of some, including conservative blogger Brian Almon and the host of Idaho Signal, a live-streamed internet show from the Citizens Alliance of Idaho, Matt Edwards.

Edwards and Almon discussed Zamora’s posts in a Jan. 28 show. Posts they discussed included reposting information about protests of ICE actions in Minneapolis and a post of an AI-generated image that says, “If gang affiliation is illegal why isn’t every Proud Boy and Klan member sent to El Salvador.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert, on Jan. 30 responded to a tweet about Zamora with, “Not. Going. To. Happen. This appointment will not move forward in the Idaho Senate.”

When the Sun asked Anthon why he opposed Zamora’s nomination, he said that “anyone that we place on the Idaho Human Rights Commission has to be committed to the rule of law.”

“They have to be committed to a position that enforcement of the law must be blind, in other words, you have to be committed that you will enforce the law no matter what,” Anthon said. “You can’t let your own personal beliefs, no matter what they are, compromise that position.”

Anthon said he may have had brief conversations with the governor’s office, but not Little himself. He couldn’t speak to why Little ultimately withdrew the appointment.

Zamora said she is OK with ending her time on the commission, but wonders who will be selected to replace her. She noted that another person of color on the commission, former Mountain Home Mayor Joe B. McNeal, had died recently, and the governor would also have to replace that member.

“I’m just worried as to who our replacements will be,” Zamora said, “and who (Little) will appoint, and where he’s going to look.”

This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.