ICE Arrest in Boise

It is fashionable to imagine that ICE is engaged in random arrests of people who it thinks are illegals. 3/3/26 KTVB:

BOISE, Idaho — Nearly a month after a father was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) near a Boise daycare, the agency is responding publicly for the first time, saying the arrest was targeted and tied to a prior conviction.

In a statement to KTVB, ICE said the man has a 2024 conviction in Boise for “theft by alteration.”

The agency described the arrest as “targeted” and said officers were never at a preschool, adding that the man was detained about 200 yards away.

The man’s family has asked that his name not be released at this time for privacy reasons.

Attorney J.J. Despain said theft by alteration typically involves switching price tags in a store to pay a lower price, rather than removing merchandise without paying.

Despain said even relatively minor offenses can draw renewed attention from immigration authorities.

“It could be,  I haven’t seen this happen so much in Idaho, but in other places in the country, they really are just looking up old cases because they want to boost their numbers,” Despain said.

Or enforce the law. If you are here unlawfully, you get immediate deportation. Even if you do not break any other laws, you are here illegally and are subject to immediate deportation.