Idaho lawmakers are debating a law similar to one in Texas that would allow local police to arrest illegal migrants and would make it a crime for unauthorized entry into the state.
A measure was introduced on Tuesday by Republican Rep. Jaron Crane that would make it a misdemeanor to be found in the state illegally on a first offense, but would make it a felony to be apprehended a second time. The bill also gives magistrate judges the power to require illegals to leave the U.S., Axios reported.
The bill was modeled after one passed in Texas in 2023. Labeled Senate Bill 4, the Texas law has been the focus of numerous lawsuits by migrant activists. But other states have looked to similar laws, including Oklahoma, which passed its own law in April.
Rep. Crane said he consulted with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as he crafted the Idaho bill to try and avoid the pitfalls that the Texas bill has faced with repeated lawsuits.
Crane said that Paxton insists that the Texas law will get past the activist’s lawsuits, and told him, “It being tied up in the courts is a political thing. Its enforceable, it’s constitutional, and it’s going to be upheld,” according to The Columbian.
Still, Crane said Paxton advised him to add a severability clause to allow parts of the law to remain in place if a judge happens to strike down others.
Regardless, pro-migrant activist groups are lining up to push out a string of lawsuits against Idaho should the state pass such a law.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), for instance, said it will challenge the law should it pass.
State Democrats are also speaking out against the proposal. Democrat Rep. Todd Achilles insisted that the law would be illegal because it would supersede federal immigration law. “This clearly violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution,” Achilles exclaimed in a common complaint about bills like this, the Idaho Statesman reported.
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