Defending Idaho's sovereignty, promoting local governance, election integrity, and limited government through good policy & community action.
Idaho
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DHS says the man charged in the Star kidnapping case illegally re-entered the United States. ICE has lodged a detainer.
This is not an isolated enforcement problem and outrage after the latest arrest isn't a strategy.
Where does your city or county stand on immigration enforcement? 🧵
Texas joins Florida in requiring sheriffs to participate in ICE's 287(g) program.
Under Texas SB 8, sheriffs operating county jails must request and, if offered, enter into a 287(g) agreement with ICE by December 1, 2026.
Idaho? Still optional.
Last session, the Idaho Sheriffs' Association opposed HB 659 AND its more flexible replacement, SB 1441.
Should Idaho revisit the issue in 2027?
KOOTENAI COUNTY IS SPLIT ON 287(g).
Participating: Kootenai County Sheriff, Post Falls PD, Spirit Lake PD and Idaho State Police.
Not participating: Coeur d'Alene.
Mayor Dan Gookin says CdA police aren't interested “for various reasons.”
A TEXAS BUILDER IS PUTTING UP FENCES TO KEEP ICE OUT OF HIS JOB SITES.
He says it's to protect his workers from immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, here's a question for Idaho's construction industry:
How many job sites could document that every worker is legally authorized to work?
Benny Melendez, the owner of a small construction company in South Texas, says he’s been forced to install fencing at job sites to protect his workers from ICE.
“It’s embarrassing for the land of the free, to have to do this,” Melendez told @camiloreports.
Unable to find workers, Melendez, a 2024 Trump voter and 2020 Biden voter, says he plans to vote for Democrats in the midterm elections.
POST FALLS WAS FIRST. NOW SPIRIT LAKE!
Congratulations to Chief Michael Morlan and Spirit Lake PD on becoming Idaho's SECOND municipal police department to join ICE's 287(g) program.
Where does your community stand on immigration enforcement? map.idahoimmigrationwatch.or…
𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲. 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗛𝗢 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.
One of the men pictured in our recent Idaho ICE-arrest graphic contacted us disputing his criminal history.
So we asked ICE to verify it.
What ICE sent back revealed a much bigger story:
• ICE first encountered him in a New York jail in 2013
• He was released in 2014 by the Obama Administration
• An immigration judge ordered him removed in October 2016 after he failed to appear
• He remained in the United States until June 2026
Nearly 10 years after being ordered removed.
He eventually surfaced again after an arrest in Idaho.
How does someone under a final removal order remain here for almost a decade?
And if he was working during those years: who was employing him, and was his work authorization ever verified?
Idaho’s 287(g) footprint is growing.
Ada County, Clearwater County & the Idaho Department of Correction have joined the program bringing Idaho to 14 participating agencies with 16 agreements. All 3 new agreements use the WSO model, the most limited form of 287(g), focused on people already in custody.
A good step. But there’s still room to go further.
👇 See where your city and county stand.
Interactive 287g map here 👉 map.idahoimmigrationwatch.or…
Idaho’s first municipal 287(g) partnership with ICE is now fully operational.
15 immigration arrests in Post Falls including 13 during the initial ICE/PFPD operation. Post Falls is leading on what local cooperation with ICE can look like.
See which Idaho agencies have joined 287(g)... and which have not in reply below. 👇
Idaho's 287(g) map 👉 map.idahoimmigrationwatch.or…
🚨 15 immigration arrests in Post Falls.
Post Falls became the first city police department in Idaho to join ICE’s 287(g) program. Now we’re beginning to see what increased cooperation with federal immigration enforcement looks like on the ground in North Idaho.
This isn’t just a South Idaho problem.
👇 KREM’s report
krem.com/article/news/local/…
Find out where your city or county stands on immigration enforcement here: map.idahoimmigrationwatch.or…
Citizens of 34 countries were arrested by ICE in Idaho in 2026 so far.
Through Aug. 5:
🇲🇽 Mexico - 707
🇵🇪 Peru - 119
🇨🇴 Colombia - 100
🇬🇹 Guatemala - 96
🇭🇳 Honduras - 54
🇻🇪 Venezuela - 33
1,177 arrests. 34 countries.
SOURCE: Secure Idaho analysis of the latest ICE arrest records released by the Deportation Data Project.
Idaho apprehensions through Aug. 5, 2026; likely duplicate arrest episodes removed.
The ICE field is country of citizenship. Mugshots shown are real examples publicly highlighted by DHS/ICE in Idaho.
The rest of the 2026 list:
Nicaragua 15 • Ecuador 7 • El Salvador 5 • Ukraine 5 • India 4 • Bolivia 3 • Russia 3 • China 2 • DR Congo 2 • Kazakhstan 2 • Romania 2 • Serbia 2
Also represented: Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Iraq, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Portugal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Taiwan and Uzbekistan - one arrest each.
34 countries in just over seven months.
Across 2025 + 2026 through Aug. 5, ICE recorded 2,214 Idaho arrests involving citizens of 46 countries.
🇲🇽 Mexico - 1,421
🇵🇪 Peru - 223
🇬🇹 Guatemala - 159
🇨🇴 Colombia - 137
🇭🇳 Honduras - 91
🇻🇪 Venezuela - 53
WHERE IS ICE MAKING ARRESTS IN IDAHO?
We dug deeper into the same ICE records behind the 1,177 arrest story.
Top apprehension cities in 2026:
Boise - 222
Caldwell - 141
Idaho Falls - 90
Burley - 79
Nampa - 67
Twin Falls - 67
Jerome - 67
Coeur d’Alene - 45
Rexburg - 33
Hailey - 30
That's 71.5% of Idaho’s statewide total.
And yes, that's Coeur d’Alene at #8. This isn’t confined to south Idaho.
SOURCE: Secure Idaho analysis of the latest ICE arrest records released by the Deportation Data Project.
We filtered to Idaho, 2026 through Aug. 5, and removed records flagged as likely duplicate arrest episodes.
The figures use ICE’s “apprehension city” field and include both custodial and at large arrests.