Idaho Sheriffs’ and Chiefs of Police Associations stand against controversial immigration bill
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho law enforcement associations continue to oppose an immigration enforcement bill that passed the Idaho House of Representatives on Friday.
The Idaho Chiefs of Police Association and Idaho Sheriffs' Association testified against the measure during committee.
House Bill 659 would require “each law enforcement agency in this state to make an application for a section 287(g) program for which the local or county law enforcement agency is eligible.”
“You have the state government telling the local government to do the job of the federal government,” said Bonneville County Sheriff Sam Hulse, immediate past president of the Idaho Sheriffs' Association. “It's just the wrong pathway. Now, we should certainly support the law. We should work with the federal partners to make sure that we help them in their efforts, but make no mistake, these are federal efforts.
"That's where this is going to be resolved. It should be resolved by federal resource in cooperation with local resource," he said. "Having the state government tell the local government that you're going to enforce federal law, I think is setting a precedence that we do not want to be on as the state of Idaho.”
You can watch our full 32-minute interview with Sheriff Hulse below for more information on immigration and law enforcement.
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act "enables specially trained local peace officers to perform specific functions relating to the investigation, apprehension or detention of noncitizens during a predetermined time frame and under federal oversight by immigration and customs enforcement,” the bill states.
The three distinct programs Section 287(g) includes are:
- Warrant Service Model
This allows Sheriff’s deputies to “serve administrative warrants inside the jail facility,” on illegal immigrants, Hulse explained.
Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office is already cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on this program. - Jail Enforcement Model
This provides additional training for jail personnel, providing further access to immigration systems so personnel can “research and place warrants themselves, without as much federal involvement,” according to Hulse.
His office is also participating in this program. - Task Force Model
This involves sending officers or deputies out in the community to find individuals who are not in the United States lawfully and taking action against them.
Bonneville County Sheriff's Office is not currently involved in this program.
Hulse said this third program is more controversial than the other two.
"(Illegal immigrants) are not here lawfully, but they may not be committing any other crimes," Hulse said. "So for a lot of communities, they see that as problematic. They feel like that is causing their local law enforcement to do things that are not really the focus of local law enforcement. We recognize that it's certainly the focus of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and/or border protection, but it's not really the job of local law enforcement to be on the front lines of that.”
While the Bonneville County Sheriff's office currently participates in two 287(g) programs, the office will implement the law if the current bill passes.
H.B. 659 also obligates local law enforcement agencies to "participate in any future program or successor to an existing program," without specifying what those programs are or what the requirements would be.
"Now we're seeing a situation where the state government feels like the proper thing is to force local enforcement entities to just do this in a blanket approach. I think that's a mistake, and I don't think we need that law," Hulse said. "I think the majority of sheriffs are doing what they can within their resources to cooperate and enforce the law."
If this bill does become law, agencies that could not fully participate will be required to publish a statement declaring why.
Despite law enforcement's opposition, the measure sailed through the House on a 41-27 vote.
Local News 8 reached out to the bill’s sponsor Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood in north Idaho, for comment, but did not receive a response in time for this report.
Local legislators Reps. David Cannon, Barbara Ehardt, Marco Erickson, Rod Furniss and Mark Harris voted for the bill.
Reps. Erin Bingham, Rick Cheatum, Ben Fuhriman, Dustin Manwaring, Stephanie Mickelsen (via William Athay), Britt Raybould, Jerald Raymond, Michael Veile, Jon Weber, and Josh Wheeler voted against it.
The bill now advances to the State Affairs Committee in the Idaho Senate.
