Idaho Prison Project Newsletter

When ICE Comes to Idaho

As you may have heard, there was a major ICE raid in Wilder, Idaho at a permitted horse racing event. The purpose was to arrest 4 people associated with a gambling operation, but ICE tagged along, terrorizing all attendees of the event. Over 100 people were arrested, rubber bullets were fired into crowds (“crowd control” actions that only serve to generate panic and chaos), children had guns pointed at them and were zip tied by ICE agents, teenagers and adults were physically manhandled. We have all seen the videos of violent ICE agents assaulting arrestees; this was more of the same. There has been mass condemnation of the raid: the Treasure Valley Interfaith community held a vigil, calling the raid a “breach of trust, a violation of rights, and a wound to the moral fabric of our community.” The raid has received widespread condemnation from regional organizations, including the ACLU of Idaho and the Idaho Democratic Party. It also earned a rare rebuke from the Canyon County Sheriff’s office, who called the ICE account of what happened “misleading”.

The consequences of the raid are not something to ignore: children are without parents, families are without wage earners, and a number of people need legal support. There are several fundraisers in motion:

• The Idaho Familias Assistance Fund, a legal Fund for victims of ICE raids

• A GoFundMe for Emillio, an impacted victim of the raid

• A raffle for Clau, an impacted victim of the raid

• An anonymous GoFundMe for an impacted family

In addition, if you are located in or near the Treasure Valley, you can donate materials to the Idaho Organization for Resource Council (812 W Franklin St, Boise). They are seeking diapers (all sizes), children’s clothing (clean/good condition), non-perishable food.

It looks like that despite Governor’s Little’s attempt to comply in advance – by entering the Idaho State Police into a 287(g) agreement or by sending Idaho National Guard to the Southern Border as “force multipliers” (did we ever get a report on what they did, exactly?) -- did nothing to prevent ICE’s violent tactics and secret police-like behavior. ICE arrests in Idaho increased 700% from 2024 and now we are experiencing violent raids that sow terror and intimidation among the targeted population.

Governor Little has recently doubled down on his support for ICE’s activities. As video after video of ICE inhumanity rolls out, each one more shocking than the last, support for ICE among the public is plummeting. He recently put out a press release, touting all the deportations that have thus far resulted from the ISP 287(g) agreement, the one that is supposed to use $300,000 of Idaho’s emergency fund (while we are facing a budget crisis) to transport 100 deportees out of state. Dubbing it “Operation No Return”, the Governor’s office put out a press release of mug shots of brown-skinned men, largely from Mexico, who were thus far the recipients of this program, calling them "highly dangerous illegal alien criminals”. This is at best, misleading. People of all citizenship statuses and walks of life break laws, and immigrants commit crimes at lower rates compared to citizens. Idaho’s prisoners are 85% white according to 2025 statistics from IDOC, so it is dishonest to imply that brown-skinned immigrants are somehow grave and unique threats to Idaho. Some of these men being deported have completed sentences at IDOC prisons. They are dangerous even after serving their sentence? What does that say about Idaho prisons and their rehabilitative potential? Is Governor Little admitting Idaho’s prisons do nothing to make Idaho safer?

The whole press release–with its “wall of shame” photo spread and special name (does every 287(g) agreement get a special label and PR campaign) – is gross, unethical and unprincipled. While shaming these men may score political points, it is dishonest and will not make Idaho any safer. Safety requires resources like public health initiatives and public schools, decent pay, behavioral treatments like peer drug counselings and options for survival. A person is more than their worst moment and their worse crime. Government officials are certainly willing to believe that about Aaron von Ehlinger or the numerous IDOC guards who sexually assaulted female prisoners, so why not these men? We all know the answer to this question.

Worthwhile Reads

This heading used to be “must reads”, but we all have too much going on for that sort of nonsense. 

Kelly Hayes penned a excellent personal essay and how she finds the courage and motivation to keep fighting even when there is failure or a setback. It’s important that we take time for ourselves to reset and refocus – self care matters, it’s not just words. But we cannot and should give up because our neighbors need us, and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

InvestigateWest recently released a 5-part series on sexual assault committed by IDOC employees on female prisoners while in IDOC custody. Called “Guarded by Predators”, it is an incredible series documenting how not only are assaults occurring, but there is little to no consequences for the perpetrators. IDOC and/or Idaho State Police engage in shoddy investigations, blame victims, cover up the incidents, and do not discipline officers. In once case, a female prisoner was impregnated by a guard, a fact that was discovered when detectives were attempting to charge the woman who reported the assault with false reporting. The guard voluntarily resigned 6 months after the complaint was filed and has not faced any consequences for raping an inmate.

We have become an authoritarian state, and our top newsrooms are in denial. “...there are no guardrails anymore. No one inside the executive branch will tell Trump no. No one in the ruling party in Congress will tell him no. The right-wing majority of the Supreme Court won’t tell him no.” Range Media chimes in: When State Terror Comes to Town. “State terror isn’t coming, it’s here. The kidnapping of our immigrant neighbors, the brutal treatment of protesting Spokanites, the Trumped up charges–all of it is meant to scare us. We’re meant to think twice about supporting the basic humanity of immigrants (and transgender people, women, pregnant people, BIPOC, disabled people, and on and on).”

The White House crackdown on crime will only make things worse. “If Mr. Trump were serious about reducing crime, he would restore [community violence intervention] grants and maintain consent decrees driving needed police reforms. He would support common-sense gun safety laws that even gun owners support. Maybe he’d even try to address the economic inequality at the root of so much crime and disorder.” (New York Times via the Marshall Project)

ICE and the military use the same playbook—exploiting impoverished communities. “ICE and the private prison corporations it holds contracts with are not just collaborating with the U.S. military; they are adopting the military's recruitment playbook—exploiting low-income people in the process, subjecting them to moral injury, and sowing deeply entrenched divisions among communities—all while failing to deliver on their promises of benefits and economic liberation. Working people deserve better than the false choice of (a) living in poverty, or (b) taking a job incarcerating people or becoming a service member of the imperial war machine.”

News Around Idaho

Officers who shot and killed autistic teenager Victor Perez will not face criminal charges. The Idaho Attorney General’s office has issued a report indicating that there is insufficient evidence to indict any of the four officers who shot a total of 12 bullets at Victor Perez within seconds of arriving at his residence, killing him. There’s still so much to say about this horrific incident. If the officers did nothing (legally) wrong, what does this say about policing? What should have been done to prevent this utterly senseless tragedy? What can we do now to make sure this doesn’t happen again?

Idaho still engaged in litigation over its public defense system. The state says the new system provides adequate defense (recall, this is Raúl Labrador in charge), while the ACLU of Idaho argues there are still significant gaps in legal representation. Meanwhile, Idaho’s DOGE is proposing to eliminate some public defense positions.

Canyon County sets aside money to build a new women’s jail. This segment from KTVB is classic copaganda where only the perspectives of law enforcement are presented. Canyon County voters turned down a bond three times for this, but that history and the views of those voters are not included in KTVB’s story.

Owyhee County sheriff Larry Sheriff demonstrates racism, sexism and fosters a bad work environment; local officials shrug. Sheriff Kendrick is also a member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a far right group that believes sheriffs are the “highest law in the land”, a ridiculous and dangerous proposition.

Idaho Statesman pens editorial opposing the use of the Idaho National Guard for immigration enforcement. “This is a slippery slope that President Donald Trump has already fallen down, and it runs the risk of mission creep. Militarizing immigration enforcement, even for clerical or administrative purposes, blurs the line between civil law enforcement and the military.”

Death Row Prisoner: Idaho Officials Ran “Misdirection Campaign” to Withhold Info on Lethal Injection. "[Gerald Pizzuto's] attorneys have expressed concerns that, like other states, Idaho could be attempting to conduct executions with contaminated or unsafe drugs." For context, many pharmaceutical companies have limited sales of drugs used in lethal injections to avoid their products being used for executions.

Idaho County Commission: County jail update - Architectural oversights cause delay. “What was planned as a tightly budgeted $12 million project has grown by at least $625,000, with commissioners questioning why essential features were left out of the architect’s plans.” This is a very large jail expansion: tripling the current Idaho County detention capacity from 16 beds to 52. They are apparently hoping to make some income housing inmates from other counties, an endeavor that often fails to bring in projected revenue and generates new problems. Construction of this jail is funded by several sources, including the American Rescue Plan, a Biden COVID-era recovery bill.