Post Falls police arrest 15 people for immigration violations after partnering with ICE

POST FALLS, Idaho – The Post Falls Police Department said it has made fifteen immigration violation arrests as a part of its joint operations agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The number was released in a Thursday press release from the department, which provided an update about the 287(g) agreement it signed with ICE in July.

“Post Falls is fully operational with our 287(g) partnership with ICE! Some say there aren't many illegal aliens in North Idaho, but we arrested 13 during the first few days in a joint operation with ICE by checking some job sites. We're up to 15 now,” Post Falls Mayor Randy Westlund said on Facebook in response to the police department’s update.

The department said the first thirteen immigration violation arrests resulted from training and joint operations with ICE agents. 

The training provided through the 287(g) program involved ICE agents accompanying Post Falls officers during Patrol Operations, the department said. This segment took place from August 24 to August 28.

The department said that during each arrest of the training, officers “determined through admissions, available records, or other evidence that the individuals had committed an immigration violation.”

In the week after the training, officers made two more immigration violation arrests, the department said. These arrests brought the department’s total to 15 immigration violation arrests.

The department’s update said it did not anticipate that the rate of immigration violation arrests would remain as high as it was during the training period. However, it added that officers would “continue to apply the skills and knowledge gained through the training as appropriate in the course of their duties.”

“The Post Falls Police Department takes the safety of our community seriously and remains committed to enforcing the law with professionalism, respect, and fairness. The department appreciates ICE’s assistance and participation in the 287(g) training process,” the department wrote.

The Post Falls 287(g) agreement is the first of its kind in Idaho, but it is not the only ICE agreement with law enforcement within the state. At the start of September, ICE made an agreement with the State of Idaho expanding collaborative work between state prison staff and federal immigration authorities.

According to federal public records acquired by the Deportation Data Project, ICE arrested nearly 50,000 people in July – the highest monthly arrest total during the second Trump administration.

The Department of Homeland Security reported in June that it had active 287(g) memorandums of agreement with over 2,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide. The data also showed that 6,500 of these arrests, or roughly 13%, were made by state and local police departments who partner with ICE.

The data also showed that more than half of the people arrested in July had not been convicted of any crime and were not facing any criminal charges. Further, less than a quarter of the people arrested had been convicted of a crime.