Bill Description: House Bill 753 would prohibit illegal aliens from being present in Idaho with certain exceptions and allow enforcement of this law.
Rating: +2
Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?
House Bill 753 would create Chapter 89, Title 18, Idaho Code, to criminalize an illegal alien entering the state of Idaho, saying, "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."
A first offense would be a misdemeanor and a second or subsequent offense will be a felony.
This law will allow Idaho law enforcement to uphold and defend the sovereignty that the federal government refuses to enforce.
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House Bill 753 would also create Chapter 63, Title 19, Idaho Code, which allows a magistrate or judge hearing a case under the newly created Chapter 89, Title 18, Idaho Code, to order the illegal alien "to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter."
This could happen in two ways. If an illegal alien is convicted of violating Chapter 89, Title 18, Idaho Code, the judge "shall enter in the judgment in the case an order requiring the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter." This order "takes effect on completion of the term of confinement or imprisonment imposed by the judgment."
Alternatively, prior to a conviction for violating Chapter 89, Title 18, Idaho Code, the judge may issue such an order if the illegal alien agrees to the order, has not previously been convicted of violating this chapter, and is not charged with another offense that is punishable as a felony.
Chapter 89, Title 18, Idaho Code, will also contain a section that further criminalizes an illegal alien refusing to comply with a judicial order to "return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter." This crime would be a felony.
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House Bill 753 would create sections 5-347 and 5-347A, Idaho Code, to provide civil immunity and indemnification for local government officials, employees, and contractors and for elected or appointed state officials or a state employee or contractors, respectively, for their efforts to enforce the laws created by this bill.
Exceptions are created for actions done "in bad faith, with conscious indifference, or with recklessness."
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Does it violate the principles of federalism by increasing federal authority, yielding to federal blandishments, or incorporating changeable federal laws into Idaho statutes or rules? Examples include citing federal code without noting as it is written on a certain date, using state resources to enforce federal law, and refusing to support and uphold the Tenth Amendment. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the principles of federalism?
Unfortunately, House Bill 753 creates several broad exceptions to the general prohibition related to federal law, including for any illegal alien who has been granted "asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158" or otherwise granted "lawful presence in the United States" by the federal government.
Exceptions are also created for illegal aliens whose "conduct does not constitute a violation of 8 U.S.C. 1325(a)" or who was "approved for benefits under the federal deferred action for childhood arrivals program between June 15, 2012, and July 16, 2021."
The state of Idaho should not acknowledge or abide by the federal government's willingness to excuse criminal entry or otherwise push for amnesty.
(-1)
