Idaho House gives go-ahead to verify nationality and immigration status

BOISE — Law enforcement agencies across the state would be required to verify and record both the immigration status and nationality of arrested individuals under legislation that passed out of the House on Wednesday.

In addition to making these determinations at the time of an arrest, all law enforcement agencies must record and publish biannual reports that include the immigration status and nationality of offenders as well as various crime statistics related to “foreign nationals” being arrested in Idaho.

Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood, who authored the legislation, said his aim is not to place an “undue burden” on law enforcement; rather, it is to address Idahoans' concerns about immigration. 

“We're not asking for anyone to do immigration and interdiction in the field,” Hawkins said Wednesday on the House floor. “We’re not asking any officer to determine someone's immigration status on a traffic stop.”

Under the bill's language, however, local law enforcement has expressed concern that they would have to do just that. The bill states that any law enforcement agency, including municipal police and county sheriff departments, will be required to verify and record the nationality and immigration status of arrested individuals in the “administration of criminal justice.”

This term is broadly defined to include “detection, apprehension, detention, pre-trial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation." Since patrol officers typically initiate detection, apprehension, and detention, this bill would require these street-level officers to determine immigration status before placing an individual under arrest.

Rep. Steve Berch, D-Boise, noted that three law enforcement groups in the state have already come out against the legislation: the Idaho Sheriffs' Association, the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police and the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association. With all three taking issue with what would amount to an added burden placed upon them, “we have to consider that,” Berch said. 

Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, said it remained unclear whether law enforcement would be considered to have complied with the law if an investigated individual cleared of a crime were released before their immigration status was verified.

“I believe what we are setting our law enforcement up to do with the language is to fail,” Raybould said, “and to not fail because they aren't willing to comply with the law, but because we haven't been clear in the law.”

By a 40-30 vote, the House approved the bill, sending it to the Senate for committee consideration.

The decision from the House arrived after the bill’s Monday hearing brought opposition from Tracy Basterrechea, the chief of police for the Meridian Police Department, who spoke on behalf of the Idaho Chiefs of Police. Though saying the association was in support of federal immigration laws, Basterrechea said the group’s stance on Hawkins’ bill was opposition out of “necessity.”

Under the current operating procedure, an officer’s time with an arrestee is limited, as fingerprinting and database entry occur once an individual is in jail custody. If the bill were to pass into law, the result would be patrol officers shouldering this data entry burden, in turn lessening their ability to remain on the street fulfilling their public safety duties, Basterrechea said.

“I’m going to have an officer literally sitting on the side of the road trying to gather this information that could be gathered in other ways,” Basterrechea said.