Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself

Rights of Immigrants

Non-English Insurance Ads – In 2007, HB 112 was a veiled attempt by the insurance industry to allow insurers to advertise in a language other than English without being held accountable for what those advertisements promised. This bill created a double standard; an English language ad can be used to modify the insurance policy when disputes arise based on ambiguities in the policy or when the consumer has been mislead or defrauded. However, this bill would take away that opportunity when the ads were in a language other than English.  So, if HB 112 had passed, an insurance company could say what it wanted in a non-English ad and provide something completely different in the policy and not be held accountable. We testified against this bill in the House Business Committee and were able to coordinate other groups to also come and testify.  Unfortunately the bill passed out of committee but was killed on the House floor with a 30-40 vote. 

English as Official Language of Idaho – Also in 2007, SB 1172 makes English the sole language of the government of the state of Idaho, save for a few exceptions.  We opposed SB 1172 because it is divisive, discriminatory, punishes language minorities, and depending on how it is applied, may violate due process and First Amendment rights to free speech and the right to petition your government. The sponsor of the bill claimed that the goal of this legislation is to unify all Idahoans, but it sends the wrong message to language minorities and punishes especially those who have recently come to Idaho from another country and have yet to learn the English language. At the time of this writing, SB 1172 had passed the Senate and awaits debate on the House floor. 

Canyon County Proposes That Sheriffs Enforce Immigration Laws – In 2006 the Canyon County Commissioners voted to have county deputy sheriffs trained to enforce immigration laws.  ACLU of Idaho Executive Director Jack Van Valkenburgh, together with two other advocates, met with the County Sheriff and explained how such a program would undermine public safety, increase racial and ethnic profiling, and expose the county to significant civil liability.  The Sheriff expressed understanding of our concerns and to date the program has not been implemented. 

Human Trafficking – In 2005, we drafted a resolution creating an interim task force to study human trafficking in Idaho. The resolution passed overwhelmingly.  Human trafficking is a severe human rights violation affecting tens of thousands of victims nationwide.  Human trafficking often involves trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation, exploitation of agricultural and sweatshop workers, as well as individuals working as domestic servants.  Is human trafficking a problem in Idaho? Nobody knows for sure, and it’s time we at least looked at the issue. 

Medical Indigency Funds – In 2005, we successfully opposed legislation that would have denied undocumented immigrants access to county medical indigency funds.