Eight-year-old Mora Gerety’s death in Boise intensified an already heated debate in Idaho after the driver was taken into ICE custody. The incident revealed a deep split within the state GOP between officials and industry groups who favor expanded visa programs to protect agricultural labor and rank-and-file voters who demand tougher enforcement. Industry warnings about labor shortages and legislative fights over driver’s licenses and enforcement tools underscore that this local clash reflects a broader national Republican rift over immigration policy.
Idaho Tragedy Exposes Deep GOP Split Over Immigration and Labor
On a November Tuesday evening, eight-year-old Mora Gerety was struck and killed by a truck while crossing a street in Boise’s North End — one of the city’s most affluent and liberal neighborhoods. When it emerged that the driver, Elvin Ramos-Caballero, had been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on an outstanding warrant, the local debate over immigration policy intensified sharply.
Immediate Reactions
Local Democrats largely focused on traffic safety, with Boise Mayor Lauren McLean issuing a muted call for safer streets. The Ada County Highway District, which manages those roads, has been working to reduce vehicle lanes on several North End streets to create more room for pedestrians and cyclists.
Conservative activists argued the crash underscored lax immigration enforcement and said the driver should never have been in the country. A Boise newscaster, Brian Holmes, publicly condemned that line of argument as a “baseless narrative” and called critics “racist idiots” on social media; his post drew national attention from right-wing influencers, and he subsequently deleted his X account.
Politics, Policy And Local Economy
Beyond the initial outrage, the incident highlighted an ongoing rift within Idaho’s Republican Party. While Idaho is a strongly Republican state, many GOP elected officials and powerful agricultural interests favor policies that preserve labor access — including expanded visa programs — because they say the state’s economy depends on migrant labor.
“If you guys think that you haven’t been touched by an illegal immigrant’s hands in some way — through either your traveling or your food — you’re kidding yourselves,”
That was the warning offered by state Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen (R), a part-owner of Mickelsen Farms, during debate over a 2024 bill that would create a state-level crime of illegal entry. Mickelsen’s outspoken defense of workers prompted a Republican activist to tip off ICE about a farm employee, Sajid Soto, who had faced prior criminal allegations. Those criminal charges and a guilty plea were later dismissed; it remains unclear whether Soto was legally present at the time. By 2025, he had become the subject of deportation proceedings.
State Sen. Jim Guthrie (R), who chairs the influential Senate State Affairs Committee, has sponsored measures to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. While such proposals stalled, Guthrie has used his committee position to block bills that would strengthen state-level immigration enforcement.
Industry Warnings And Legislative Moves
In 2024 the Idaho Legislature approved Senate Joint Memorial 102, urging federal immigration reform that included expanded visas for agricultural workers. Sponsors denied the measure amounted to amnesty. Still, industry lobbyists warned lawmakers that removing unauthorized workers could leave tens of thousands of dairy and farm jobs unfilled; a lobbyist for the Idaho Dairymen’s Association told legislators that as many as 30,000 dairy positions could go vacant and estimated that up to 70% of dairy workers might fail I-9 audits.
The dairy industry has opposed mandatory use of the federal E-Verify system and instead has advocated expanding H-2A and similar visa programs to cover year-round agricultural labor.
Escalating Tension And Public Backlash
Tensions flared further when a bar in nearby Eagle, the Old State Saloon, offered a month of free beer to anyone who helped ICE deport an undocumented immigrant. The saloon’s post on X (formerly Twitter) went viral — reportedly receiving millions of views before platforms removed it — and drew widespread online support from some conservatives and condemnation from others. The bar faced a wave of one-star reviews, denunciations and even threats, illustrating how a local incident quickly became a national flashpoint.
What Comes Next
Although Idaho sits more than 600 miles from the southern border, immigration is one of the state’s most combustible political issues and a proxy for a broader national debate within the Republican Party. Two out of three Idaho voters supported Donald Trump in 2024, yet many elected Republicans and agricultural interests continue to press for policies that preserve the state’s labor supply. Expect immigration and labor-policy disputes to re-emerge when the Idaho Legislature reconvenes in January and to remain a contested issue on the national stage.
About the author: Brian Almon is chairman of Idaho’s District 14 Republican Party, a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board and editor of the Gem State Chronicle.
