What if someone broke into your house last night, but when you called the police, they were too busy or didn’t care enough to send officers to deal with your situation? You still have the right to protect yourself and your family by kicking the intruder out of your house, even if force is required, right? Well, that's the same kind of thinking behind House Bill 11, but the "intruder" is an illegal immigrant, and the "house" is the state of Idaho. The "police" that are too busy are the federal authorities in charge of protecting our borders.
Rep. Jaron Crane and Rep. Bruce Skaug proposed HB 11 to address this part of one of America’s most pressing policy issues: illegal immigration.
In a nutshell, HB 11 criminalizes “illegal entry into or illegal presence in” Idaho by an illegal alien. Additionally, the bill adds a felony cause of action if an illegal alien fails to comply with a judicial order to return to their country of origin. Lastly, this legislation provides civil immunity for and indemnification of local government officials, contractors, and employees for the enforcement of this bill.
Idaho needs this bill, even with the new presidential administration. It sets an important precedent that Idaho, as a sovereign state, will protect its borders regardless of federal failure or misconduct.
In the past four years, “state sovereignty” has become a buzzword in the United States, particularly in response to state and federal inaction on illegal immigration and the southern border.
Since former President Biden assumed office, the United States has faced a plethora of crises, both abroad and on the homefront. One of the most pressing national and domestic security issues facing American communities, families, and property is illegal immigration. Biden essentially implemented an “open border” policy, which resulted in roughly 10.8 million individuals crossing the border illegally between 2021 and 2024. For perspective, that is roughly five and a half times Idaho’s population.
Republican legislatures are overwhelmingly silent as illegals are being bussed across their state borders and given places to live, prepaid debit cards for food, and free health care, all on the taxpayers’ dime. Many of these illegals bring with them violent rap sheets, making communities less safe as gang activity skyrockets in pockets around the country.
So, how does this affect Idaho? Well, the American Immigration Council and research from the University of Idaho agree that nearly 35,000 illegals were in the state of Idaho as of 2021. More recent estimates, however, suggest this population almost doubled by 2023 to 62,000. How much more has that number increased due to Biden’s “open border” policy?
Over the past four years, the federal government has been derelict in its duty to protect citizens from foreign invasion and massive economic, educational, and infrastructural burdens. The resulting crisis naturally resulted in a significant loss of public confidence in the government.
Surveys show that Americans' confidence in the federal government has dwindled significantly over the past several decades, and in the past four years, it has plummeted even further due, in part, to the government's failure to protect our borders.
Power in the United States balances between the federal and state governments. The U.S. Constitution enshrines the sovereignty of states in the 10th Amendment, and James Madison declared that state powers are “numerous and indefinite.” In contrast, the powers enumerated to the federal government were specific and few.
The Founding Fathers established a system of government intended to check and balance itself. In the words of Madison, state sovereignty offers “security agst. (sic) oppression from within, or domestic oppression” and argued,
“The Sovereignty (sic) of the State (sic) is equal to that of the Union (sic); for the Sovereignty (sic) of each is but a moral person. That of the State (sic) and that of the Union (sic) are each a moral person; & in that respect precisely equal.”
States possessing the authority to make and enforce their own laws apart from the federal government is a critical feature of Americanism. The U.S. Constitution was established in a way that allows states to adjudicate laws and regulations within their borders despite potential federal overreach or failure.
Of course, the border crisis is one of the most obvious examples of federal failure. When the federal government fails to close the southern border and secure our nation, the states are able to create and enforce laws that will secure their borders and protect their citizens. In other words, where the federal government fails, the states are designed to be able to succeed.
It’s time for states to start exercising state sovereignty by stepping up and protecting their citizens. Idaho has the opportunity to do just that through legislation such as HB 11. The bill is in the House State Affairs Committee this week; once the bill is listed publicly you can sign up to testify here.
