In waning hours, Republicans revive ICE bill that Idaho sheriffs oppose
Idaho lawmakers — for the second time this week — used a move called a “radiator cap” to completely rewrite a bill outside of the normal process Wednesday evening, and it’s a bill that law enforcement in the state is against.
In this case, lawmakers turned an E-Verify bill on immigration into a measure that requires law enforcement to apply for a 287(g) cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The bill was rewritten just after 6 p.m. on a close vote, over the objections of those who said that it was “extremely inappropriate” and that the change was done without consulting the bill’s sponsors.
“It’s completely in line with our rules,” Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the Idaho Statesman after proposing the change. “You have to keep trying on what you believe in.”
Redman said he’d worked to find a path forward for the original E-Verify bill, but “we were unable to come to an agreement between the parties.”
The Senate used the same process on Monday to revive a shelved bill that, among other things, would prevent schools from taking union dues out of an employee’s pay. Senators advanced that bill on Wednesday, part of a marathon session intended to try to wrap up the 2026 legislative session, which will continue into Thursday.
Immigration has been a hot topic again this year; Redman and other Republican lawmakers have brought a slate of proposals, the majority of which have failed or stalled as they confronted opposition ranging from nonprofits to law enforcement.
That included a 287(g) bill to mandate applying for a cooperation agreement with ICE that a Senate committee rejected in mid-March.
But Senate Pro Tem Kelly Anthon, R-Declo, brought back two bills last week that law enforcement opposed. One combined a bill to audit Idaho refugee resettlement programs with another that would require law enforcement to verify the immigration status and nationality of people arrested.
Law enforcement said the requirement would create duplicated work among agencies and take time away from policing.
The second bill, which drew a scathing press release from the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association, brought back the mandatory 287(g) application. The sheriffs alleged that the bill was resurrected because of pressure from the Trump administration. They said they already cooperate with ICE.
Anthon previously told the Statesman that after the first 287(g) bill failed, he wrote another one and shared it with the federal government.
“This is not a top-down push from the federal government to pass legislation,” Anthon previously said. “This is me trying to involve the federal government as I draft bills to make sure that they are workable and that they are good policy.”
He shared a letter of support from the White House on the 287(g) bill with the Statesman, but it has not yet come up in the Senate, which already adjourned Wednesday night. The new House 287(g) bill has to be voted on by the House and then go to the Senate again for another vote.