By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief
“We want to make sure that we are being respectful of our citizens’ views and opinions on this, while still seeing the importance of technology when it comes to modern policing in our community.” - Twin Falls Police Department Lt. Steven Gassert
A Flock Automated License Plate Reader near the Lowe’s on Overland Road in Boise, as captured on Aug. 5, 2026. (Photo by Valentin Termite/Idaho Capital Sun)
IMMIGRATION
Immigration searches were conducted on Twin Falls Flock network. A month later, agreements changed.
By Valentin Termite
Public records show the Twin Falls Police Department’s ALPR systems have been searched for immigration-related purposes at least 631 times across March, May and June of 2026.
Nationwide police agencies conducted the searches through Flock’s national network sharing, including lookups from Indiana State Police, Georgia’s Lawrenceville Police, Florida’s Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission, among others.
In doing so, the searches inadvertently evaded both Idaho Code 49-1432 and self-imposed restrictions by Twin Falls PD prohibiting the use of ALPR cameras for immigration purposes, as outlined in Flock’s Transparency Portal.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer watches a crowd of protesters at Delaney Hall, a detention center, in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026. Employing new tactics, ICE arrested more people in July than in any previous month of the Trump administration. (Photo by Ben Ackman/New Jersey Monitor)
IMMIGRATION
With new tactics, ICE reaches new high in monthly arrests
By Tim Henderson
Advocates suggested immigrants with expired visas should not travel without consulting an attorney.
Arrests based on expired visas are likely to continue and will accelerate in September when a new rule takes effect that sets stricter time limits on visas for students, exchange visitors and foreign media.
Vials of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are displayed on a counter at a Walgreens Pharmacy on Jan. 26, 2015 in Mill Valley, California. (Photo by Illustration Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
GOVERNMENT + POLITICS
Trump urges shift in childhood vaccine recommendations, calls for splitting up MMR vaccine
By Shauneen Miranda
The order — which calls on federal programs and funding to “support maximal parental choice over childhood vaccines” — came as Trump continued to erroneously connect vaccines with autism during the White House event and his administration has sought to de-emphasize childhood vaccinations’ importance.
MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US
ICYMI
Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting
Note: Some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall
Moscow-Pullman Daily News: Moscow buried by records requests on Kohberger
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