BOISE, ID – An Idaho House committee on Tuesday rejected a bill to criminalize helping unauthorized immigrants.

House Bill 764, sponsored by Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood, and promoted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, would allow people and organizations to be charged with crimes for helping unauthorized immigrants in Idaho get shelter, financial support, legal assistance or access transportation. That would apply if the person or organization helped someone that they knew wasn’t lawfully in the U.S., or if that person or organization “recklessly disregards the fact” that the person they were helping was unlawfully in the U.S.

People or organizations that help at least five unauthorized immigrants could face felony charges under the bill.

Representatives of several nonprofit and religious organizations testified against the bill. Some of them argued that the bill would force them to verify the immigration status of people in-need that they serve.

“This makes citizens across Idaho fearful of volunteering at hundreds of charitable organizations across the state, a state that prides itself on taking care of its neighbors,” Idaho Foodbank CEO Randy Ford testified.

Some attorneys told lawmakers the bill would prevent them from legally representing unauthorized immigrants. Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford, representing the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association, testified against the bill, saying it lacked a clear exception for law enforcement to aid crime victims.

The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted 9-7 to hold the bill in committee, preventing it from advancing to the full House. Hawkins carried the bill last year.

Many people who testified in favor of the bill work at conservative lobbying groups. Some supporters said they were immigrants who supported enforcing immigration laws.

Heritage Foundation fellow Theo Wold, who for less than a year served as Idaho’s solicitor general, helped Hawkins present the bill in committee and answered lawmakers’ questions about how the bill would work.

“It doesn’t require investigation for the provision of services open generally to members of the public, whether they’re citizens or not,” Wold said. “That means soup kitchen lines are safe, and it means that lawyers advocating for their clients aren’t concealing anything. They’re openly advocating for lawful solutions; that isn’t prohibited.”

This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.