An Idaho Transportation Department letter asking immigrants for status records is worrying attorneys and their clients

Idaho immigration attorneys are puzzled by a new letter from the Idaho Transportation Department notifying immigrants of issues with their records that allow them to be in the United States.

The letter, sent out in the last two months, notifies recipients that there is a "discrepancy" between their Division of Motor Vehicles records and their citizenship or lawful presence records. The letter also states the transportation department will put a "hold" on their motor vehicles records until the accepted documents are provided.

The letter has raised concerns among Idaho immigration attorneys who say they have gotten calls from immigrants who received the letter and are worried about being scouted for detainment, arrest or deportation. Some have lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years and have children. One has been a U.S. citizen for decades.

"They're scared. One of them stopped driving," local immigration attorney Alycia Moss said. "(The U.S. citizen) was surprised because he has been here for so long. He said, 'This scared me enough to call you.' "

Idaho and its governor has been mostly supportive of President Donald Trump's significant increase in immigration deportations and arrests, although the pursuit has swept up eligible workers, legal immigrants and U.S. citizens, stoking fears of immigration encounters. Dairy farmers warned Idaho lawmakers this session that some of their immigration-focused legislation could harm the dairy industry, which contributes more than $3 billion to the state's economy every year.

"Enhanced enforcement, enhanced vetting using technology under the policies of the Trump Administration to root out more people," Moss said. "I'm not surprised this is happening. It makes sense."

The notified person must provide documents such as a birth certificate, a passport, a visa, a birth abroad report, a work permit, a certificate of naturalization or a permanent resident card. Idaho law requires people to have citizenship status or lawful presence status to obtain a driver's license. It can be complicated: Sometimes the expiration date of a license and the expiration date of someone's legal status differ, Moss said; sometimes someone's legal status changes while they still have permission to be in the U.S. ; or they fall in and out of status while an application is pending.

While the "hold" on the person's record doesn't suspend driving privileges, it notifies transportation staff there is a possible issue with the person's immigration status on file, Britt Rosenthal, an Idaho Transportation Department spokesperson, said in an email.

The letter is new, Rosenthal said, but notifying someone of a records discrepancy is not. Rosenthal said this letter is an updated version that began going out in March because the department now has access to a federal citizenship status verification program under U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It's known as "SAVE."

The program assists federal, state and local agencies in verifying the immigration status of "benefit applicants."

An agency like Idaho Transportation Department would have to execute an agreement with the government in order to use it.

Rosenthal said in an email that the letter was "revised to give clearer instructions now that the DMV can validate information more accurately using the federal SAVE system." It's unclear when the transportation department began using SAVE, but the program is now free for state and local agencies to use.

USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler told The Spokesman-Review in a statement that since the government made the program free, demand has "skyrocketed."

"SAVE is a vital tool for making sure that benefits and licenses go only to those who qualify," Kahler said in the statement. "USCIS will keep working to meet this demand and fulfill our crucial mission: making sure only eligible aliens receive benefits."

When using SAVE, the program returns a response of "potential non-U.S. citizen" when there is a match in DHS systems, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson said. The case is reviewed by someone who manually checks the system and confirms their status is something other than a U.S. citizen.

Though Moss doesn't know to what extent the state - or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - would share transportation records with federal agents, it wouldn't be surprising, she said.

"It wouldn't take someone at the Idaho Transportation Department deciding to share it; it would take someone in federal operations to ask for it," Moss said. "The state government seems to want to coordinate with immigration in a deep way. If we were to go to the next level, why wouldn't they share (the data) with enforcement removal operations or homeland security, who have offices in Boise?"

The Idaho Transportation Department told The Spokesman-Review that it is not coordinating or working with ICE.

Moss has been part of a listserv with more than 50 attorneys across the state since 2012. The listserv was active this month as attorneys messaged about the letter.

"I only just heard about it in the past two weeks ... My understanding is they are going out statewide. I have seen them here in eastern Idaho, and they are (being sent out) in Boise," Idaho immigration attorney Tim Jones said. "Maybe people had their status changed and were not aware of it. Or maybe Idaho thinks their status has changed when it hasn't."

Jones had a new face come into his office to talk to him about the letter, seeking advice. The person was worried about their license expiring and being unable to renew it.

"Each situation is going to be different. Sometimes people are U.S. citizens but they don't have evidence they are," Jones said. "And that evidence could be difficult to get."

Moss suggests contacting an attorney if someone receives the letter. The attorney would be able to contact the Idaho Transportation Department on the person's behalf to find the necessary documents.

Editor's note: This story was updated on April 16, 2026, to include an additional comment from the Idaho Transportation Department indicating the DMV can now use the SAVE system and a statement from USCIS that was sent after press deadline.

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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 11:38 PM.