COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – After former Idaho Solicitor General Theo Wold and Idaho Senator Brian Lenney (R-Nampa) used X on August 22 to share an article by Jessica M. Vaughan from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) that referenced what appears to be a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unpublished internal draft report dated June 21, 2024, listing Kootenai County as “non-complainant,” speculation spread quickly across social media with many individuals claiming Kootenai County was now a “sanctuary county.”
When the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) became aware of the information circulating on social media, it immediately issued a press release titled “Kootenai County Falsely Identified as a Sanctuary County” on August 22 stating, “The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office has an excellent working relationship with U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) to remove criminal aliens from our county. All illegal aliens are held within our jail until ICE can arrange further processing and transportation to one of their facilities. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office temporarily houses illegal aliens from throughout the Pacific Northwest for ICE.” The KCSO release also said that no ICE petition for a criminal alien has been denied.
After reviewing the article from CIS, the unpublished ICE internal draft report, and the KCSO press release, the Kootenai Journal contacted KCSO and submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain information relating to undocumented persons, KCSO policy, and the county’s current status with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to Captain Jeremy Hyle, the sheriff’s office contacted DHS to determine why Kootenai County Jail appeared on a list as ‘non-cooperative.’ The DHS official confirmed that Kootenai County is not designated as ‘non-cooperative’ on any official published data and is not listed as a sanctuary county on any government website. “DHS did research and said the list you referenced is not accurate and they are able to continue their working relationship with us,” stated Capt. Hyle in response to our inquiry. “In speaking with DHS officials, if we were in fact on that list, they would be banned from housing illegal aliens with us.”
Capt. Hyle stated the jail currently has two individuals in-custody with ICE Detainers and provided Kootenai Journal with a list of Foreign Nationals In Custody from January 1, 2024 through August 23, 2024. The list contains details on the arrests of 47 foreign nationals, 34 of which were listed with an ‘ICE/BP Hold.’ Of the 34 inmates listed with an ‘ICE/BP Hold,’ 33 have been released to the U.S. Custom and Border Protection Agency, while one remains in-custody.
Capt. Hyle explained that if Kootenai County was truly designated as ‘non-cooperative,’ then federal agencies like the U.S. Border and Customs Patrol would be prohibited from housing illegal aliens within Kootenai County Jail and there would be no inmates with ICE Detainers at the jail at all.
Since January 1, 2021, KCSO has maintained a Detection Services Intergovernmental Agreement in which it agrees to provide the housing and subsistence of Federal detainees at per diem rate of $93.00 and a guard/transportation hourly rate of $36.00 with mileage reimbursed by the General Services Administration.
The data provided by Capt. Hyle appears to show that KCSO is in compliance with Idaho Code enacted in 2023 which requires it to work with ICE, as well as federal case law on ICE Detainers. “In 2023, a federal case law, Vera Castrejon V Jerome County, confirmed we have the legal ability and authority to hold an alien on an ICE Detainer for up to 48 hours after they are released from local charges once they submit DHS form I-247,” stated Hyle. “The previous Jail Captain implemented this procedure in 2023 and I recently changed our policy to match what we were already doing.”
“We have been working with Border Patrol and DHS/ICE to process and hold illegal aliens as allowed by law,” continued Capt. Hyle. “We don’t have any indication that ICE has ever been unable to get here to pick up someone inside of the 48 hours limit which we can hold them.”
It is noteworthy that ICE does not provide a designated contact person for Kootenai County officials to communicate with. KCSO has a phone number and an email address by which it contacts ICE, and neither are specific to any individual within the agency.
At the time of this publication, the ICE Seattle Field Office did not respond to a request for a statement from its Regional Director concerning the accuracy of the unpublished draft report. Northern Idaho is within the ICE Seattle Field Office jurisdiction, while southern Idaho is within the Salt Lake City Field Office.
We also requested an additional statement from Wold who appeared on Idaho Signal LIVE with Matt Edwards on August 23 to address his X post and discuss illegal immigration enforcement and the potential of an illegal alien crime wave due to the 15.5 million foreign nationals who have illegally entered the United States over the past three and a half years. Wold provided the following statement after this article originally published.
The point of the report is that the Seattle Field Office has reported the Kootenai County Jail as a non-cooperative jurisdiction. If the sheriff thinks that’s a mistake, then the Seattle Field Office can clear it up. But unless that happens, I have seen no reason yet to doubt what the report says.”
Theo Wold
Kootenai Journal will continue to cover this developing story.
