Idaho State Police partners with ICE to deport inmates without authorization to be in U.S.

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) – Idaho State Police have entered into a partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to transport immigrants who are convicted of a crime and are not authorized to be in the U.S. to ICE detention centers for deportation, state officials announced Thursday.

Idaho will participate in the jail enforcement model under the 287(g) program, which allows ICE to delegate specific immigration officer functions to state and local law enforcement officers, according to a news release Gov. Brad Little issued Thursday.

State officials said Idaho State Police will only be targeting and transporting people who have been convicted of a crime and are finishing their incarceration sentence. Instead of releasing the inmates to the community after they complete their sentence, they will be directly transported to ICE facilities in Idaho for detention, state officials said.

“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. “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.”

In a written statement released late Thursday, ACLU of Idaho officials expressed concern with the partnership.

“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. “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.”

Idaho State Police seeks funding to transport immigrants to deportation facilities

daho State Police is seeking $300,000 in funding to pay for the transports, state officials said. The money would be used to provide up to 100 transports from Idaho jails or prisons to ICE facilities for deportation, such as the Jefferson County Detention Center in Rigby, state officials said.

Idaho State Police will not be able to carry out any ICE transfers until the Idaho State Board of Examiners approves the funding request, which could occur as early as next week.

“I’m really encouraged to see Idaho making its communities safer by signing on with our 287(g) program,” Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a written statement. “You have to remember that we’re talking about criminals — and often, they won’t take an arrest sitting down — so when local jails are allowed to turn them over to ICE in a safe setting, we don’t need to send dozens of federal law enforcement officers into the public to make arrests. Partnerships like this one keep offenders out of communities and protect our families, friends and neighbors.”

The new Idaho State Police/ICE partnership essentially implements the transport aspects of House Bill 83, a Texas-style immigration bill that the Idaho Legislature passed and Little signed into law earlier this year.

However, a judge temporarily blocked House Bill 83 from taking effect in March after ACLU of Idaho filed a lawsuit against the state, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

Under the 287(g) program, ICE is allowed to partner with local law enforcement agencies and the state does not need to resolve the legal challenge over House Bill 83 before moving ahead with transporting people convicted of a crime to ICE detention centers for deportation, state officials said.

Earlier this year, Little also issued an executive order that called for state agencies to continue collaborating with ICE and called on state agencies to consider formal procedures to assist with the enforcement of immigration law.

Idaho State Police officials began discussing the partnership with ICE after Little issued the executive order in February, state officials said.

It was not exactly clear how many people convicted of a crime in Idaho would be subject to transfer to ICE facilities for deportation under Idaho’s new partnership. However, state officials used the term “hundreds” several times and said that each of the up to 100 transports to ICE facilities would include multiple people.