BOISE — Today, a federal judge extended the Temporary Restraining Order for House Bill 83 in the lawsuit IORC v. Labrador, and granted provisional class-action status, which prevents enforcement statewide. This means local law enforcement in Idaho cannot arrest or detain anyone based on their immigration status.
The lawsuit brought by the ACLU and the ACLU of Idaho argues that H.B. 83 violates the U.S. Constitution by attempting to supersede the federal government’s oversight of immigration enforcement, by impermissibly limiting interstate commerce, and by failing to give ordinary people fair notice of what conduct it proscribes.
“This is a huge win for our immigrant community and the Constitution,” said Paul Carlos Southwick, ACLU of Idaho Legal Director. “We are pleased that the court agreed our case is likely to succeed on the merits of our arguments, and that the court protected families from being torn apart by this cruel and unnecessary law.”
The judge is expected to release a decision on the ACLU's requested preliminary injunction in the coming weeks. If granted, the preliminary injunction would provide a long-term ban on the law while litigation continues.
“The Constitution is clear that Idaho has no right to interfere with federal immigration laws. And we will defend the constitutional rights of everyone, regardless of their country of origin, as the Constitution guarantees.” said Emily Croston, ACLU of Idaho Staff Attorney.
If not blocked by federal court, the law would have impacted anyone stopped by the police or accused of a crime, even falsely, and subjected them to potential immigration enforcement even if there is no criminal conviction, meaning many innocent families would have been unjustly subject to deportation.
“The judge’s decision provides significant relief to immigrants in Idaho,” said Ruby Mendez-Mota, ACLU of Idaho Campaign Strategist. “This law would have hurt immigrant families, enabled racial profiling, and sowed further distrust in local law enforcement. This ruling has reaffirmed the humanity of Latines and immigrants in Idaho, and given our community hope that their dignity will be respected.”
“As we see an alarming rise in unconstitutional attacks on immigrant rights across the country, including on those with legal status, we applaud the court for upholding the rule of law and our Constitution,” said Leo Morales, ACLU of Idaho Executive Director. “We refuse to tolerate the dismantling of constitutional rights of anyone, and will defend those rights regardless of a person’s national origin.”