Amid slate of immigration bills introduced recently in the Idaho Legislature, a group of industry leaders gathered Friday to release a report detailing the economic contributions of Idaho’s unauthorized workforce.
The Idaho Alliance for a Legal Workforce, a group of employers from industries that depend on immigrant labor that advocates for immigration policies, funded the report. The study detailed the potential short-term economic consequences of deporting a large percentage of Idaho’s unauthorized immigrant workers.
Researchers affiliated with the University of Idaho, Washington State University and private business estimated in the report that removing a significant portion of Idaho’s unauthorized workforce could reduce the state gross product by up to 4%, or similar to the reduction from the Great Recession.
“This is explicitly taking a shot across the bow of our growth industries for the state, and this comes at a time when our economy is sitting on a knife’s edge,” said study co-author Tim Nadreau, a regional economist at his own firm and faculty at U of I and WSU. “The fundamentals of our economy are strong, but they are at risk right now.”
The study wasn’t associated with either university.
Leaders from the farm, dairy, construction and development industries also said Friday they opposed state efforts to require employers to use E-Verify, a federal database used to verify employee work authorization. They argued it added unnecessary “red tape.”
They said there was a need to let federal authorities and lawmakers reform federal immigration laws rather than regulating it at the state level.
“This is a federal issue. We need to let the federal government fix this,” said Steve Martinez, of the Idaho Home Builders Association.
Report outlines economic analysis of immigrant workforce in key Idaho industries
The report, prepared by Nadreau and Steven Peterson, an associate U of I professor and economic consultant, estimated Idaho is home to about 40,000 unauthorized individuals, with a margin for error of 10,000.
The study modeled a reduction of 50% of the unauthorized workforce in the non-dairy agriculture, dairy, construction and hospitality and food service industries in Idaho — collectively these industries represent about 35% of the state’s entire economy, researchers said.
The estimated impact would be a 45% reduction in dairy output, 25% reduction in dairy processing, and 22.5% in overall agriculture. The study found an estimated 13% decline in construction labor and output value and 10% reduction in output by the hospitality and dining sector.
Overall, the estimated gross state product loss was $5.1 billion, and a reduction in Idaho state tax revenues of $397.8 million.
In 2024, the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, and Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry requested that the U of I McClure Center for Public Policy create a similar report on the value of unauthorized workers to Idaho’s economy, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.
Industry leaders push back against criticism that using migrant labor is akin to ‘slave labor’
A group of state lawmakers on Feb. 3 announced a slate of immigration bills meant to crack down on employment of unauthorized workers, nonprofit aid to unauthorized people, and track citizenship status of students and jail and prison inmates, the Sun reported.
Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, during the announcement of the bills, said they were meant to address the “human rights issue” of legal and illegal immigration.
“It’s time to say no more cheap slave labor,” Lenney said at the event. “No more propping up the Third World, no more subsidizing corporate greed, cartels and modern day slavers through the exploitation of tens of thousands of foreign nationals who are currently in Idaho as we’re sitting here.”
Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, said he took offense to that characterization.
“That is a comment that comes from a place of ignorance,” Naerebout said. “My dairymen are good people. They treat their workers well.”
He said to think, with Idaho’s low unemployment rate, that industries could be paying below-market wages, “is very misinformed.”
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation CEO Zak Miller said the requirements under the H-2A visa program, which is used for seasonal agricultural worker authorization, are strict and set a minimum wage well above the federal minimum wage.
“It’s a hard job to work in agriculture, but it’s a fair job,” Miller said, “and it’s an honest job, and people that want to do that can better their families. But what we see, is Americans seem to not want that.”
He noted that a requirement for employers to utilize H-2A workers is that they prioritize employment for domestic citizens. He said that in 2025, there were over 7,600 applications by Idaho employers for H-2A permits, and of those open positions, there were five Idahoans who applied.
What immigration bills have been introduced?
None of the bills crafted with the national conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, announced by Lenney and Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood, have received a public hearing as of Friday, but several have been introduced. Other bills regarding similar topics but not associated with the group of lawmakers from the Feb. 3 announcement have been introduced or advanced.
The follow bills regarding immigration have been proposed so far:
- House Bill 656 – Would require public schools, charter schools, and public universities and colleges to report aggregate numbers of the immigration status, nationality of students, and primary language of all students. It was introduced in the House Education Committee on Feb. 12.
- House Bill 592 – Would mandate hospitals collect patient immigration status data and report the anonymous numbers of citizenship status to the state and expected costs to treat them.
- House Bill 584 – Would prohibit employers from hiring unauthorized employees, and requires use of the federal work authorization program E-Verify. The bill was first introduced on Feb. 4, but a new version was introduced Feb. 13.
- Senate Bill 1247 – Would require large state and other government contractors to use E-Verify. This bill is sponsored by Sen. Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs, and not affiliated with the slate of Heritage Foundation bills. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted to send the bill to the Senate floor on Feb. 12.
On Friday, there were multiple bills introduced but not yet given bill numbers.
- Hawkins and Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston, introduced a bill to make it a misdemeanor crime for employers to knowingly hire or recruit unauthorized workers.
- Hawkins introduced a bill targeting the aid of people residing in the state illegally. Last year, Hawkins proposed a bill creating a new crime against individuals or organizations that conceal, harbor, shield or help people in the country unlawfully. He has said he plans to bring back the proposal.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.