What if a known murderer breaks into your house tonight while you’re having a nice dinner? Would you offer them a meal? Money? Give them your job? 

Probably not; you’re more likely to call the police, pull a gun, or pretty much anything else to keep your family and home safe. Now, imagine the known murderer was welcomed into your home by a government agency that broke down your front door to let them in. Are you happy with your government? Are you feeling safe?

Let’s think of Idaho as our home. The way we treat illegal immigration is not much different than government agencies opening the doors to Idaho and welcoming in all sorts of miscreants and criminals. Despite being excellent regarding squatting and home invasion, our state laws do not sufficiently protect Idahoans from illegal immigration and the costs they impose on our state.

In his excellent article this week, Idaho Freedom Foundation’s Fred Birnbaum detailed the kinds of people allowed into the U.S., most of them undetained and roaming freely — over 647,000 criminals and potential criminals, including 13,099 convicted murderers. Some of them are in Idaho. The scourge of fentanyl and sex trafficking are also part of the baggage this invasion has brought.

Idaho has important work to do to make up for the failures of our federal government regarding illegal immigration. Other states have passed strong measures to protect their families and homes. Some states have gone the other way. Where does Idaho stand?

In 2023, Idaho passed and enacted Senate bill 1030 to make it illegal for government entities to pass laws protecting illegal immigrants from enforcement of federal immigration laws. The bill ensures there will be “no sanctuary” for illegal immigrants. It encourages Idaho state and local law enforcement to share information with federal immigration officials to aid them in prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants.

The bill is an important step in protecting Idaho. It means no Idaho agencies or governments are going to get in the way of enforcing immigration laws.

On the negative end, a bill to prohibit illegal entry into Idaho or presence in Idaho by an illegal immigrant failed to get a Senate hearing (H753). Yup, it was held in Senator Jim Guthrie’s bill-killing drawer. Also in the last session, a bill to prohibit public benefits for illegal immigrants (H615) was defeated in a House committee. Both bills need to come back and become law.

An ongoing report on how states are doing with respect to laws either deterring or welcoming and protecting illegal immigration shows Idaho as the number four state west of the Mississippi River in protecting its citizens and economy from illegal immigration. Pretty good, but still not the best. Overall, the Southeast of the U.S. is the strongest area for states protecting themselves.

Take a look at the map below produced by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a pro-immigration policy center. The more purple the state (and lower index score), the more protected that state is from the negative effects of illegal immigration. The greener (higher index score), the more “sanctuary” the state, and therefore has diminished safety and higher economic costs of illegal immigration. Idaho easily could be, and in fact needs to be, dark purple.

Idaho should be leading, not lagging. As a “conservative, red state,” Idaho has more work to do. We must make sure we are not a state attracting or harboring illegal immigrants. Specifically, there should be no public benefits which draw illegal immigrants to Idaho, and there should be prohibitions against illegal immigrants coming into Idaho and staying here. These will be priority issues for the Idaho Freedom Foundation as we promote safety and fairness in immigration in the 2025 Idaho Legislative Session.