MERIDIAN, ID – Idaho’s largest health system is leasing office space in a Meridian building it owns to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed.
In southwest Idaho FBI raid, officials zip-tied teens and used aggressive force, lawsuit alleges
St. Luke’s Health System spokesperson Christine Myron said the leased space at Portico North is being used as an administrative office for DHS, which is the parent agency of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Myron said St. Luke’s entered the lease last fall, and that the lease is managed by the federal government’s General Services Administration.
“Our understanding, then and now, is that this location is not a processing facility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Myron said in a statement. “The leased space is used as administrative office space for DHS, and ICE officers are not stationed there as part of this arrangement.”
St. Luke’s does not use the building to treat patients but has administrative offices in it, Myron said.
Federal government agencies did not confirm the lease existed. News outlet WIRED first reported the agreement.
Spokespeople for St. Luke’s, DHS and the General Services Administration did not answer the Idaho Capital Sun’s questions about how long the lease runs, or share a copy of the lease agreement.
For law enforcement agencies to enter St. Luke’s facilities, they must “provide a valid warrant,” Myron said. “Our priority remains the same: ensuring every patient receives safe, respectful care whenever they come to any St. Luke’s location.”
Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm ICE office locations
A spokesperson for DHS declined to confirm ICE’s office locations. The spokesperson said ICE officers “are facing a coordinated campaign of violence against them, including an 8,000% increase in death threats against them and a 1,300% increase in assaults against them.”
“Is it really news that when a federal agency hires more personnel that they need more space?” the DHS spokesperson added. “Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents on the ground across the country. That’s a 120% increase in our workforce.”
A spokesperson for the General Services Administration said: “GSA is committed to working with all of our partner agencies to meet their workspace needs. GSA remains focused on supporting this administration’s goal of optimizing the federal footprint, and providing the best workplaces for our federal agencies to meet their mission. GSA is following all lease procurement procedures in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.”
In a civil rights lawsuit filed last week, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged that federal and state law enforcement officials used aggressive tactics and unjustly detained hundreds of people, including children and U.S. citizens, at an Oct. 19 raid in Wilder, Idaho. Following the raid, DHS said ICE arrested 105 people on immigration violations, and the FBI said it arrested five people who were allegedly linked to an illegal horserace gambling operation.
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.
