The state Senate's latest push to ratchet up local immigration enforcement is heading to the floor despite opposition from county sheriffs.
Senate Bill 1442 from Senate Pro Tem Kelly Anthon (R-Burley) would require law enforcement officers to verify and record the immigration status and nationality of all arrested suspects.
It would apply to law enforcement activities including: "detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders."
Local police and sheriffs departments would have to report that information twice a year to the public.
Details include the number of people arrested without legal status, crime statistics related to a person's immigration status and any reason an agency doesn't comply with the law.
"I don't think this is asking too much, honestly," said Anthon. "This is a piece of legislation also about accountability and that's really all it is about."
Sheriffs from Ada, Bonneville and Canyon counties testified against the bill Monday morning, saying it would burden their frontline deputies with additional responsibilities related to an area of the law they cannot enforce.
"This puts us in a precarious situation where we're doing the job of someone else – a federal agent – and it's putting our law enforcement officers at risk of litigation and liability, which puts our cities and our counties in that same liability," said Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue.
Despite the language of the bill, Anthon said these concerns are false.
"None of that's true. None of it. That's not what the bill says. [You have] to read the bill," he said.
In addition to putting new responsibilities on law enforcement, the proposal would require refugee resettlement agencies to report data about the people they serve.
That would include the total number of refugees served, their nationality and gender, how successful they are at learning English and how many housing units they're occupying.
"I've always thought in my mind that if we're bringing refugees to the state of Idaho, and particularly local governments, there should be some data that shows what we're doing," Anthon said.
That's especially true, he said, as local governments draft and update their strategic plans that guide where they direct resources and infrastructure in the future.
Anthon's bill easily cleared a Senate committee and now heads to the floor for debate.
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