Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0700 – Unauthorized Alien Employment Prohibition Act
Bill Summary
House Bill 700 creates a new chapter in Idaho Code making it a misdemeanor for employers, employment agents, labor organizations, or referral services to knowingly employ, continue to employ, rehire, recruit, or refer for employment any alien who is not lawfully present in the United States or whose immigration status does not authorize employment under federal law. The bill defines unauthorized aliens as those not lawfully present, lacking valid federal immigration status that authorizes employment, or whose previous employment authorization has expired, been terminated, or revoked.
The legislation requires employers who know or reasonably should know that an employee’s lawful immigration status or employment authorization has expired or been revoked to cease employing that individual. However, employers receive an affirmative defense against criminal prosecution if they verified the employee’s identity and employment eligibility through the federal E-Verify program prior to hiring and received confirmation of employment authorization. The bill includes an emergency clause making it effective July 1, 2026.
Overall Assessment
This bill criminalizes the knowing employment of unauthorized aliens in Idaho, creating misdemeanor penalties for employers, labor organizations, and employment agents who hire or continue employing individuals without valid work authorization. The legislation provides legal protection for employers who use the federal E-Verify system in good faith before hiring. By establishing state-level criminal penalties for employing unauthorized aliens, Idaho asserts its authority to address immigration enforcement within its borders.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. RESPONSIBILITY IN GOVERNMENT (0)
The bill creates a new criminal offense and enforcement mechanism but does not address fiscal responsibility, taxation, government spending, congressional reform, or state legislature operations. The legislation focuses exclusively on employment restrictions for unauthorized aliens without engaging matters of government size, budgets, or fiscal policy.
ARTICLE II. CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT (0)
This bill regulates employer hiring practices and has no connection to citizen involvement in government, primary elections, ranked-choice voting, voting rights, or election integrity. The legislation addresses employment verification requirements rather than civic engagement or electoral processes.
ARTICLE III. EDUCATION (0)
The bill addresses employment of unauthorized aliens and contains no provisions related to education policy, school choice, curriculum, parental rights in education, or school funding. The legislation operates entirely within the employment law domain.
ARTICLE IV. AGRICULTURE (0)
While agricultural employers may be subject to the bill's requirements, the legislation does not specifically address agricultural education, trade policy, water for agriculture, or family farms. The bill applies uniformly across all employment sectors without targeting or exempting agricultural operations.
ARTICLE V. WATER (0)
This bill addresses employment verification and authorization without any connection to water rights, water management, inter-basin transfers, dams, or water policy. The legislation operates in an entirely different policy domain.
ARTICLE VI. NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT (0)
The bill regulates employment practices and has no connection to environmental stewardship, natural resources, wilderness areas, forest health, or land management. The legislation does not engage with environmental policy matters.
ARTICLE VII. ENERGY (0)
This bill addresses employment of unauthorized aliens without any connection to energy independence, energy resources, hydroelectric power, or energy policy. The legislation does not engage with energy-related matters.
ARTICLE VIII. IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORIES (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, or energy technology development. The legislation focuses exclusively on employment verification requirements across all sectors.
ARTICLE IX. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS (0)
This bill regulates employment practices but does not involve taking of property, eminent domain, regulatory takings, or property development rights. The legislation operates within employment law rather than property rights.
ARTICLE X. STATE AND FEDERAL LANDS (0)
The bill addresses employment verification and has no connection to state or federal land management, land ownership, or state sovereignty over lands. The legislation does not engage with land policy matters.
ARTICLE XI. WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT (0)
This bill regulates employment practices without any connection to wildlife management, hunting, fishing, predator control, or fish and game policy. The legislation operates in an entirely different policy domain.
ARTICLE XII. ECONOMY (0)
The bill creates new regulatory requirements for employers by mandating verification of worker authorization and establishing criminal penalties for violations. While this adds compliance obligations, the legislation provides an affirmative defense through E-Verify use and does not impose licensing fees, taxes, or other direct economic burdens that would constitute excessive regulation.
ARTICLE XIII. HEALTH AND WELFARE (0)
This bill addresses employment of unauthorized aliens without relating to healthcare delivery, health insurance, patient rights, welfare programs, or medical services. The legislation operates within employment law rather than health and welfare policy.
ARTICLE XIV. AMERICAN FAMILY (0)
The bill regulates employment practices and does not directly address family values, marriage, right to life, parental rights, or children's welfare. The legislation focuses on employer verification requirements rather than family policy.
ARTICLE XV. OLDER AMERICANS (0)
This bill addresses employment of unauthorized aliens without any connection to policies affecting older Americans, senior services, or retirement security. The legislation does not engage with issues specific to older populations.
ARTICLE XVI. LAW AND ORDER WITH JUSTICE (1)
The bill directly implements state authority to address unauthorized alien presence by creating misdemeanor penalties for knowingly employing individuals not lawfully present in the United States. Section 44-2801(1) makes it unlawful to "knowingly employ, continue to employ, rehire, recruit, or refer for employment in this state any alien who is not lawfully present," establishing Idaho's enforcement mechanism for immigration-related employment violations within state borders.
ARTICLE XVII. NATIONAL DEFENSE – SECURING THE BORDER (1)
The bill addresses border security concerns by criminalizing the employment of unauthorized aliens, thereby removing economic incentives for illegal immigration. Section 44-2801(1) establishes criminal penalties for knowingly employing aliens "not lawfully present in the United States," creating state-level enforcement that complements federal border security efforts by targeting the employment magnet that attracts illegal immigration.
ARTICLE XVIII. ELECTION OF JUDGES AND IDAHO SUPREME COURT JUSTICES (0)
This bill addresses employment of unauthorized aliens without any connection to judicial elections, constitutional interpretation, or the selection of judges. The legislation does not engage with judicial system matters.
ARTICLE XIX. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (0)
The bill regulates employment practices without any connection to religious freedom, free exercise of religion, conscience clauses, or government interference in religious practices. The legislation does not engage with religious liberty matters.