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Committee holds bill that would let corrections director transfer inmates with final deportation orders to ICE
Summary
Sen. Lori Den Hartog’s SB 14‑43, which would let the Department of Corrections place eligible inmates with final deportation orders into ICE custody and potentially toll sentences, drew testimony about victim protections and operational uncertainty; the committee rejected a motion to send the bill to the floor (vote failed 4–5) and held it.
Sen. Lori Den Hartog (District 22) presented Senate Bill 14‑43 to give the director of the Idaho Department of Correction discretion to place inmates who have final deportation orders on conditional release into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pending their removal or other arrangements. The sponsor said the measure is discretionary, not mandatory, and includes provisions for restitution, victim notification and limits on eligibility (for example, not available for life‑sentence or death‑row inmates).
Den Hartog said the director could negotiate agreements with ICE and the bill would allow the director to issue a warrant for an offender’s arrest that would remain in effect if the person returned to the U.S. "This is analogous to what happens when someone is put on parole," she said, adding that the Department of Correction would need to work out operational details and consider victims’ rights.
Director Bree Derrick told the committee that the department would need to operationalize the program through rulemaking and that she did not yet have a precise plan for how other countries would enforce sentences or how victim protections would be guaranteed. "I don't have a great answer yet for how that works," she said, but described the tolling approach as similar to parole practices: time spent confined under ICE could count as time served, and returning to the U.S. and committing a crime could revive unserved portions of the sentence.
Mike Veralia of the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police urged the committee to hold the bill, arguing the measure could weaken victim accountability and put victims at risk because Idaho cannot ensure foreign authorities will carry out the expected confinement. Prosecutors and other members raised concerns about probation or supervision after transfer and whether the bill would create unintended incentives.
Sen. Toews moved and Sen. Adams seconded that SB 14‑43 be sent to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The motion went to a roll‑call vote; the chair announced the motion failed 4–5 and SB 14‑43 was held in committee. The director and sponsor said additional rulemaking and drafting would be necessary before the committee could advance a workable program.
Next step: Bill is held in committee pending further drafting and potential outreach to prosecutors, victims’‑rights stakeholders and the Department of Correction for operational details.
