At an annual meeting of the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association, Kieran Donahue, the sheriff of rural Canyon County, Idaho, blends into a Boise conference room full of suits and cowboy hats.
He said he’s heard of the plans of President-elect Donald Trump and “border czar” Tom Homan to carry out the largest deportation campaign in American history -- a campaign that will likely rely on local law enforcement officers like him.
“I'm very supportive,” Donahue said – if, he qualified, the incoming administration does what it’s suggested and focuses on people with criminal records.
Donahue is also the president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, representing more than 3,000 county sheriffs across the country. He thinks most are on board, even eager, to support an immigration crackdown.
“Their citizens are suffering under the onslaught of the criminality, anywhere from this massive shoplifting or breaking into stores, up to ... rape and murder,” he said.
However, many studies show immigrants with and without legal status commit crimes at rates lower than U.S.-born citizens. And while governors and local officials in conservative states are gearing up to collaborate with the Trump administration, Democratic-led cities and states are preparing to respond.
In Colorado, for example, lawmakers are working to strengthen existing state laws that protect immigrant communities and restrict local law enforcement's involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many of these policies stem from efforts by state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Democrat who was first elected in 2018.
“We realized that we had the opportunity as local community members here, as Coloradans, to push back and say, ‘You know what, ICE, you do your job, but stop using local law enforcement to do your job for you,’” she said in her office at the state capitol.
The legal patchwork across the region could spark clashes with the Trump administration, as the incoming president’s immigration plan faces varying levels of support and resistance depending on the political landscape.
To help or to resist
While the federal government is responsible for civil immigration enforcement, state and local governments can play a role in how the laws are applied.
Donahue said sheriffs are uniquely positioned to assist ICE because they’re directly elected by voters and not accountable to mayors or city councils. They also run county jails.
Currently, Donahue's jail holds individuals arrested and suspected to be in the U.S. without proper legal status to be picked up by ICE, if federal agents request it. Local law enforcement may also inquire about someone’s immigration status and share information with ICE about immigrants without legal status charged with crimes.
Donahue hopes that in President Trump’s next term, sheriffs will be empowered to do more to help with federal immigration enforcement. For example, he said the administration could decrease barriers for local jails to hold more immigrants charged with crimes, funnelling them into the immigration system.
“We may do surveillance, and then be there in certain cases to assist in the apprehension and taking them into custody,” he said, in cases involving individuals accused of “serious” crimes. “We stand ready to assist in that because I want my community safer.”
But Donahue emphasized that, in most cases, sheriffs do not have the authority to enforce federal immigration laws on their own. While Trump could expand a program known as 287(g), which allows participating local law enforcement agencies to act as ICE in certain cases, there are practical challenges. Many sheriffs’ offices are already stretched thin and lack the personnel to take on additional responsibilities.
“This is a daily job for us – we're doing this stuff daily and nightly,” Donahue said. “I think one challenge for sheriffs across the country will be how do they allocate additional resources to the administration, if asked.”
In contrast, in states such as Colorado, laws limit the reach of local law enforcement in immigration enforcement.
Gonzales, the state senator, worked on successful legislation that blocks law enforcement from arresting or holding people solely based on immigration-related charges; bars local governments from entering into immigration detention contracts with ICE; and prohibits state agencies from sharing personal information with ICE unless court-ordered.
“It's our way of living our values, and saying, ‘You are part of our state; you are part of this community,’” she said.
She said it also undermines public safety when people fear law enforcement.
Before joining the state legislature, Gonzales was a policy director at an immigration law firm. As a lawmaker, her focus has been protecting Colorado’s immigrant communities, including those in mixed-immigration-status households. Data from 2021 show about 19,000 U.S. citizens in Colorado were married to an undocumented spouse. Over the past two years, Denver, which Gonzales represents, has seen more than 40,000 new migrants arrive.
“Folks are doing everything that they can do to improve their lives and the lives of their families,” she said.
Despite several laws on the books that could defend against Trump’s deportation efforts, Gonzales worries Colorado may still become a target. On the campaign trail, Trump dubbed his plan “Operation Aurora” after a video of armed men at an apartment complex housing migrants went viral.
And though Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he opposes parts of Trump’s deportation plans, he’s also indicated a willingness to reach across the aisle on immigration issues.
"We have zero tolerance for those who commit violent crimes whether they are American citizens or not," he said during his annual state of the state address in January.
The consequences of enforcement
Whether local jurisdictions double down on cooperating with ICE or state lawmakers push for stronger protections, a large-scale deportation campaign – and media attention surrounding it – could have far-reaching consequences across the region.
Nevada has one of the highest per-capita rates of undocumented residents in the country; Colorado is home to about 150,000 people without legal status; and in Idaho, an estimated three-quarters of unauthorized immigrant adults have been in the state for at least six years.
“It is sad,” Donahue said, “it is going to be disruptive, but right now, I don't see another avenue forward.”
Gonzales wants to minimize that disruption as much as possible, but she said she also doesn’t want to provide the community with false hope.
“Know that in Colorado, we are working to strengthen the protections that exist,” she said. “But ICE is going to do what ICE is going to do.”
At the Colorado state capitol, Gonzales decorates her office, preparing for the legislative session. She wears a gold necklace that her husband gave her, with a chain spelling out “Senadora” in chunky letters. She said she plans on introducing more bills to bolster Colorado’s immigration laws.
Several immigration advocates said they see gaps in the state’s policies that could be filled to further push back on the incoming administration, from blocking ICE arrests at schools to protecting immigrants who report crimes.
Gonzales said she hopes local law enforcement in Colorado follow state law over Trump’s pleas. But several counties in the state say they want to help with federal immigration enforcement. They’ve tried challenging the laws in court, but so far haven’t been successful.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
