Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office statement on ‘uncertain times’ is latest stir-up in immigration discourse

For years, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert “Bob” Norris hasn’t stopped talking about immigration.

To quell what he believes are fears of “uncertain times,” he issued a vague news release earlier this month encouraging people to call law enforcement if they see something suspicious.

“Millions of illegal border crossers. Two assassination attempts on a presidential candidate,” the news release on sheriff’s office letterhead stated.. “… I have instructed your sheriff’s office to deploy additional resources to ensure peace is maintained and for a more rapid response should one arise in our community … If you see something suspicious, do not hesitate to call your law enforcement agency.”

The release isn’t the first time the sheriff has brought up the hot-button issue of border security. Some people on Facebook questioned if it was some sort of political stunt to win re-election. Others wondered what was meant by “deploying additional resources.”

Norris dismissed the criticism: “How could it be campaign related when I put out something to make them feel safe?” he said.

“It’s a statement that spreads fear,” said Kate Bitz, an organizer and program manager with the Western States Center, a nonprofit that supports communities organizing around social justice issues. “One thing we’ve learned since the 2020 election cycle is that specific messaging is key to keeping everyone safe and diffusing tensions.”

Norris told The Spokesman-Review last week that part of the reason for issuing the release was the one-year anniversary of when Hamas attacked Israel, as well as a release the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent out on Oct. 2 indicating the threat of domestic and foreign terrorism “remains high” during anniversary-type events.

The release was vague, Norris said, because he wanted to “raise the level of awareness.” This meant taking people in nonessential positions and putting them “out in the field” to showcase a bigger presence in the community, he said.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Jeffrey Howard said people who don’t come to work in uniform were now being required to come to work in uniform in case potential political unrest needs a swift response.

“When people have understandable fears about political violence, I would always ask for specificity,” Bitz said. “What might people see as suspicious? What are some good reasons to call the sheriff’s department? What are the current laws on voter intimidation? How would they call that in? What I’m seeing here is just a very generalized statement. It does not contribute to a calm atmosphere.”

While Norris has contributed to political and immigration discourse – in YouTube videos, in podcasts, even – the conversation isn’t always relevant to North Idaho.

In many events and meetings, Norris wastes no time touching on the topic of unauthorized immigration, or people entering the country in violation of national law.

His statements can be fairly opaque.

In one event posted to his campaign page, he associated Spanish-speakers to being “illegal,” which appeared largely unchecked by community members, who later cheered him on.

“When someone uses the word ‘border crossers’ or ‘illegal,’ people’s minds go to Mexico. They go to our population,” said Margie Gonzalez, the executive director of the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs. “Not every person who comes into the U.S. is coming illegally, and we are not all criminals.”

In Norris’ video posted to his campaign website, he tells the crowd, “I do believe we are being impacted by illegal immigration, and mostly from the southern border.”

In an interview last week, Norris told The Spokesman-Review something different, that he believes people are fairly safe in North Idaho.

“Are we experiencing that influx of illegal immigration here?” he said. “No. .. However, it’s something we need to be aware of.”

Data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows the agency has had 143 Idaho “encounters” this year with people attempting to cross a border without prior authorization. Out of those, 42% were Canadian citizens. Only seven people who could be classified by the U.S Census as “Hispanic” encountered border patrol this year.

This year, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 143 “encounters” in Idaho with people attempting to cross a border without prior authorization. Five people out of that total, the agency reported, were Mexican citizens. Sixty people were Canadian.

A 2024 report from the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs also shows Latinos in North Idaho were more likely to have been born in the United States. Those living in south-central Idaho are more likely to have been born outside of the U.S.

In a separate interview Friday, Norris said law enforcement is having “more contact with illegal immigration,” but then said there was no rise in criminality associated with it. He said in the video that deputies used to need Spanish translators once a month or so, and now they need one every week.

Two or three people in a normal month are jailed in Kootenai County due to immigration status, according to a report from the Coeur d’Alene Press. Most aren’t arrested in the county or the state of Idaho, rather they were arrested in Washington and are held in the Kootenai County Jail awaiting transfer to a federal facility.

But even though there’s been no rise in criminal cases, Norris said his deputies encountering more Spanish-speaking people “is an indicator that it’s going to come.”

“That’s where people make errors,” Gonzalez said. “I tell everyone that if you put me in a lineup with someone from Canada who has blond hair and blue eyes, and tell them to pick someone ‘illegal,’ they’d pick me. And I haven’t broken any laws.”

In 2017, researchers from California, Alabama, New York and Virginia conducted a 20-year study on immigration and its relationship with crime. The study found that in American metropolitan areas, murder, robbery, burglary and larceny decreased as immigration increased. The only criminal charge with no impact was aggravated assault, the study said.

The sheriff’s office also issued a previous press release on Aug. 26, touting they had partnered with the U.S. Border Patrol to apprehend an Indian man at the fair. Norris brought this up as “an example” of unauthorized immigration in North Idaho, he said.

A caller reported the man was photographing children “and appeared to be foreign national,” Norris said. According to the release, deputies never developed probable cause to arrest him and he was never charged with a crime.

Instead, the man was turned over to the border patrol, who then turned him over to ICE. The release ended with the sheriff’s office telling their citizens that they’re working to “resolve matters of illegal immigrants in the country.”

Norris talked momentarily on Tuesday about the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable search and seizures and also protects people from arrests without probable cause.

“If someone is here illegally, do I believe I should go contact them and detain them? Or Border Patrol or another entity? Yes, I do,” he said. “But that’s not what the law says.”

The news release from the sheriff stands out among other Kootenai County Sheriff’s releases. Most releases discussing immigration ask that people report suspicious behavior or that Kootenai County is not a place for “illegal immigration.”

But Kootenai County isn’t an immigrant center: 99.1% of people in Kootenai County are U.S. citizens as of 2022, according to U.S. Census data, and less than 6% of people living in the county are Latino.

The data also shows 2.16% of people in the county are foreign-born. Most of those people come from Canada and some from Russia.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this month, migrant “encounters” at the nation’s border have steadily declined since the beginning of the year.

Even so, Norris claims his constituents are concerned about immigration. In January, he recalled a gun show where people asked if he could “do something” about people there who were speaking Russian and presumed to be “illegal,” according to a story from the Coeur d’Alene Press.

Rebecca De León, spokeswoman for ACLU Idaho, said immigrants already face barriers coming to the U.S. to improve their lives.

A person in law enforcement racially profiling, or profiling people who speak a different language at all, is an abuse of power, she said.

“What the sheriff has done is actively initiate scare tactics targeted at only a small percentage of the community in his jurisdiction with no evidence of a problem,” De León said. “This does not create safety, but rather fosters fear and racial profiling … Rather than being a kind neighbor, the Kootenai County sheriff has instead decided to target and villainize this population.”

Norris still remains steadfast in his views. He testified at the Idaho Legislature this year in favor of a Texas-like bill that would allow local police to arrest unauthorized immigrants without U.S. documentation. He also hosts numerous community meetings to talk to citizens about immigration, and additional topics including gun rights, human trafficking and “sexually explicit books.”

“I am a proactive sheriff,” Norris said Friday. “I will continue to testify in Boise in legislative hearings to strengthen Idaho’s laws on illegal immigration.”

Gonzalez, who maintains she’s still not seeing a huge increase in North Idaho Latino immigrants, said it’s important to note that nonwhite people “aren’t just immigrants.” They are doctors, nurses, lawyers and engineers, too.

“And they’re not going anywhere. There’s so much we can bring into a community … Individuals who believe everyone of color is undocumented, crosses that line of racism,” she said. ” I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with him one day to have a civil conversation to help me understand. Maybe he could understand.”