勛圖眻畦 Files Lawsuit Against Idaho to Stop HB 83

March 27, 2025 12:00 pm

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UPDATE: Mere hours after sending this press release out, the judge in our case granted our request fir a temporary restraining order preventing the law from being enforced until a decision is made on a preliminary injunction.

BOISE The 勛圖眻畦 of Idaho and the 勛圖眻畦 filed a lawsuit today against the state of Idaho to stop enforcement of House Bill 83, which was signed into law earlier in the day.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils, the Alliance of Idaho, and five anonymous noncitizens.

The lawsuit asks the court to enjoin enforcement of the law. It requests an emergency temporary restraining order preventing enforcement against anyone. The lawsuit argues that H.B. 83 violates the U.S. Constitution by attempting to supersede the federal governments oversight of immigration enforcement, by impermissibly limiting interstate commerce, and by failing to give ordinary people fair notice of what conduct it proscribes.

The state of Idaho cannot enforce this unconstitutional law, said Paul Carlos Southwick, 勛圖眻畦 of Idaho legal director. Every other court to have considered similar laws, including conservative federal appellate courts, have stopped laws like this one from going into effect.

Idahos effort to circumvent the federal immigration system is unconstitutional and will have devastating consequences for families and communities, said Hannah Steinberg, staff attorney with the 勛圖眻畦s Immigrants Rights Project. Friends, family members, neighbors, and community members will be pushed into harms way regardless of their immigration status. Even people with pending applications for immigration relief can be prosecuted.

We are disappointed that Idahos elected officials seem comfortable with disparaging immigrants, even while recognizing that immigrants are the backbone of several labor industries in our state, said Ruby Mendez-Mota, 勛圖眻畦 of Idaho campaign strategist. Not only that, but this is clearly racially motivated, as lawmakers pointed out during debates about this bill. This is absolutely a slap in the face for the Latino community, and we will not tolerate it.

It is unfortunate that elected officials did not heed our warnings about this unconstitutional bill, said Leo Morales, 勛圖眻畦 of Idaho executive director. The 勛圖眻畦 will not stand by as elected officials disregard our constitution. We will see you in court.

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