Representative Chaney (R – District 10) has reintroduced his controversial legislation, which would strip funding for cities in Idaho that declare themselves a “sanctuary” for immigrants. Under the bill, if an Idaho community has been determined to “adopt, enforce, or endorse a policy under which the entity prohibits or discourages cooperation with the enforcement of immigration law,” they may lose up to 50% of its sales tax revenue. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again–this legislation is a solution in search of a problem.
Currently, Idaho has always complied with federal law. This legislation will have almost no effect on how Idaho operates when it comes to federal statutes. In fact, this legislation will do more harm to Idaho than anything else. According to recent memos released from the Department of Homeland Security, the federal government is planning on ramping up deportation of undocumented immigrants across the country. The memos have illustrated that while priority will be placed on immigrants who have been accused of serious crimes will take priority, federal officials have also been instructed to begin deportation proceedings for any undocumented immigrants they come across (Source).
While Rep. Chaney paints his updated legislation as new and improved, the reality is that this bill will still drive a wedge between our local law enforcement and our Latino populations. My concern is that our local communities will be in constant fear of being accused of not complying with immigration law, simply for failing to do the federal government’s job for them. With all of the uncertainty coming from the White House, we cannot and should not task our local cities and law enforcement agencies with the job of enforcing federal immigration policy.
I question why the majority party is putting forward proposals that seek to fix imaginary problems in Idaho, when Idaho families are in need of sound, commonsense legislation to improve our economy, education, and overall quality of life. While the Democratic Caucus is proposing policies that will help Idaho prosper, the majority party is wasting time writing and re-writing bad legislation that will hurt families, local communities, our agricultural industry, and our economy.