BOISE, Idaho — This week, Governor Little signed HB 83 into law, which was immediately followed by a lawsuit by the ACLU. A federal judgetemporarily blocked the Immigration Cooperation and Enforcement Act for 14 days.
On Sunday, a couple hundred people showed up for the Somos Idaho Rally on the steps of the Idaho Capitol to show their support for the immigrant community here in Idaho.
"It makes me feel very supported, and it makes me feel very proud to see the community go out of their way to express their emotions, their love for the community, and their disappointment for the law that was passed," said Dania Tolentino of Somos Idaho.
House Bill 83 was designed after a similar law was passed in Texas last year. Essentially, it would give state law enforcement the ability to enforce immigration laws on people if they are being investigated for a different crime.
"Currently, for the entire state of Idaho, there are only nine ICE agents," said Paul Carlos Southwick, a legal representative for ACLU Idaho. "There are 3,000 state and local police officers, and this would be an astronomical expansion."
Dania Tolentino worries about what she calls the anti-immigrant rhetoric in Idaho and the United States. She sees this law as an attack on the immigrant community and feels it would make everyday life harder.
"I think it would put a lot of distrust in law enforcement," said Tolentino. "There are supposed to be restrictions, but I think the community wouldn’t see it that way. They wouldn’t feel that way, I think it would just make people scared to go to work."
Governor Little signed HB 83 into law on Thursday, saying he was proud to work with Idaho legislators to support President Trump's efforts to ensure immigration laws on the books are enforced and to deport illegal immigrants.
Bill sponsors say this law aims to crack down on illegal immigrant criminals coming into Idaho, and it also creates a new crime for people who transport illegal immigrants into Idaho who have committed a crime in another state.
The ACLU feels this law is unconstitutional, saying it violates the Supremacy Clause that a state can't override federal law. The ACLU says it violates the Commerce Clause, and they worry about how vague the law is as it's currently written.
There will be a legal fight ahead as a judge blocked the law temporarily. The next hearing will happen at 10:00 a.m. on April 10th at the Federal Courthouse near the VA in Boise.
