An Idaho Republican is speaking out after a local party official boasted online about reporting her family’s farming business to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Idaho state Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen told KTVB in an article published on Monday that she is “one of the few that have stood up to the far right extremism” and because of that, she has become a target.
Mickelsen is listed online as the CFO for her family’s potato farming business. She maintained in an op-ed for the Idaho Statesman that the business complies with all “applicable federal and state laws” regarding employment and immigration.
However, she said she became “the target of intimidation tactics designed to silence ” her when Ryan Spoon, Ada County GOP vice chairman, announced Jan. 21 on X that he was reporting her businesses to ICE.
“Attention, Mr. Homan, could you please send some illegal immigration raids to the businesses owned by Idaho State Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen?” Spoon wrote on X, referring to President Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan.
“She has been bragging about how many illegals her businesses employ. Here is a list of the businesses to raid,” he continued, linking to an “about” page on Mickelsen’s political website.
In a follow-up post, he wrote that he was “filling out” ICE tip forms for “all of Rep. Mickelsen’s businesses.”
ICE showed up at Mickelsen Farms three days later, Mickelsen told Investigate West. One immigrant worker employed there was detained by ICE as of Jan. 27, according to the news outlet.
Mickelsen said that the man was detained because of a criminal record, and she did not know his immigration status. The lawmaker did not respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.
Spoon told HuffPost that he really did report Mickelsen’s family business to ICE.
“I reported her to ICE, because she bragged about hiring illegals,” he said in an email.
He also told Investigate West that Mickelsen’s “own testimony drew attention to herself.”
That testimony, he told HuffPost, was when Mickelsen spoke out against a bill that would let local law enforcement detain and possibly deport undocumented immigrants. (Mickelsen ultimately voted for the bill, which has yet to pass the state Senate.)
Spoon pointed to video of Mickelsen’s testimony posted by political group Stop Idaho RINOs. RINO is an acronym used to mean “Republican in name only.”
“I think everybody needs to be aware that when we keep going down this road of attacking illegal immigrants, you’re mainly attacking Hispanics in this case,” she said in the clip.
She continued, “If you guys think 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.”
Spoon also told HuffPost that his actions “had nothing to do” with political rivalry.
“She lives on the opposite side of the state from me. There is no position for which she would be my ‘rival.’”
Mickelsen said Spoon targeting her business represents a broader issue.
“These attacks aren’t just about me,” Mickelsen wrote in her op-ed. “They represent a dangerous shift in our political discourse. When elected officials can be bullied into silence because of false statements and threats to their livelihoods and safety, we all lose.”