Idaho State Representative Jason Crane (R-Nampa) introduced a bill Tuesday that says illegal immigrants entering the state could face criminal penalties.
House Bill (HB) 11 says, “a person who is an alien commits an offense if the person enters or attempts to enter this state directly from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry.”
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services defines an alien as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.”
Furthermore, HB 11 states that if illegal immigrants were to be arrested for this crime, they would be charged with a misdemeanor. However, if they did it again, the charges would increase to a felony.
This bill also gives a magistrate or judge the power to order illegal immigrants “to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter.”
If people who are convicted of this crime don’t follow the court order, then they will be charged with a felony.
“A court may not abate the prosecution of an offense pursuant to this chapter on the basis that a federal determination regarding the immigration status of the defendant is pending or will be initiated,” the bill says.
In addition, HB11 provides civil immunity for people who would enforce this law.
HB11 is declared an emergency, which means it will go into immediate effect if it passes.
Crane tried to introduce a similar bill, House Bill 753, last year during Idaho’s legislative session. The Idaho State House passed it, but the Idaho State Senate did not pass the bill.
This Idaho bill is modeled after the bill Texas passed in 2023, which Gov. Greg Abbot signed into law. Texas Senate Bill 4 charges an illegal immigrant with a misdemeanor for entering the state illegally. The Lone Star State would charge an illegal immigrant with a felony if the person had been previously convicted of illegal entry from a foreign nation.
Geoffrey Heeren, a University of Idaho law professor, told The Idaho Statesman that this bill will likely face legal challenges.
“That is something that really flies in the face of 150 years or so of case law saying that that is an exclusive federal power,” Heeren said. He added that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has many judges appointed by Republican presidents, deemed Texas’ law unlikely to succeed.”
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected]. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.