TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Twin Falls County Sheriff Jack Johnson issued a statement on Thursday refuting rumors that local law enforcement is removing children from schools based on their immigration status.
Idaho News 6 spoke in person with Sheriff Johnson on Thursday. He has been in office for less than two weeks. Johnson clarified that his department has no involvement in pulling children out of schools and has no plans to do so.
"We have not been engaged in this process and we have no plans to pull children out of schools," Sheriff Johnson said.
The rumors reached Johnson when a school resource deputy contacted him after hearing about the issue through the school system.
Sheriff Johnson emphasized that the policy of notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about individuals suspected of being in the country illegally has been in place since 1985 and remains unchanged. He also noted that the Sheriff's Office does not have the capability to verify the legal status of individuals, only to notify ICE upon suspicion. Johnson stressed the importance of reporting crimes regardless of immigration status.
"We don't want the message out there 'Don't report a crime,'" Johnson said. "We want crimes reported so we can move forward to get those bad actors off the street."
Sheriff Johnson reassured the community that the Twin Falls Sheriff's Office is committed to public safety and that immigration status should not deter individuals from reporting crimes.
