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JEROME Gabriella Gonzalez voted for
the first time in her life last month, in a
Jerome City Council election.
“I think,in my opinion,the people that
are on the ballot are listeners,” she said.
Gonzalez, 25, who went to school in
Jerome, started to pay more attention to
the City Council after having a daughter.
She wants to see the city’s leaders make
education a priority.
“I have a child,” she said.“Pretty much
it’s the future ... that’s what I’m think-
ing of.”
Gonzalez was among just 12 percent of
registeredvotersinJeromewhocastabal-
lotonadaywhenthecitywaspickingtwo
Council members and deciding whether
to create a cemetery district.
Voter turnout in local elections is low
among people from all backgrounds.
Turnout in Jerome County was just 14
percent in November. And even in state
and national elections, turnout has been
falling—stayingbelow50percentinevery
gubernatorial race since 1994.
However, involvement is noticeably
lower among Hispanics, and none of
Jerome’s elected city or county officials
come from Hispanic backgrounds.
Jerome isn’t unique in this — there are
only a couple of Hispanic city council
members in south-central Idaho. And
most towns, including places like Rupert
and Burley where the Hispanic share of
the population is comparable to Jerome’s,
don’t have any at the moment.
The Magic Valley has no stories like
Wilder’s, the small rural-Idaho town that
broke political barriers last month by
electing its first fully Latino city council.
What’s at stake? Not just council seats.
If Hispanic people voted more, some say
it could force Idaho politicians to look at
immigration-related issues differently.

Jerome Mayor Dave Davis has seen
little Hispanic interest in local politics.
Part of this, he said, is
because many of Jerome’s
Hispanic residents are not
U.S. citizens. But even
some Hispanic friends of
his who are citizens aren’t
particularly interested.
“Personally, I feel it’s
going to take a couple gen-
erations for their kids and
their grandkids getting up to the point of,
‘Hey, we want to be involved,’” he said.
Part of it, Davis suggested, could be
the general lack of interest in local poli-
tics among people from all backgrounds.
A statewide poll done by Dan Jones and
Associates a little before Election Day
showed that three-quarters of Idaho
adults have never thought about running
for office and wouldn’t do it even if they
did stop to think about it.
Davis himself didn’t do more than vote
until he ran for mayor in 2013, during
a turbulent time in city government. A
banker by profession, Davis campaigned
on cutting spending and keeping taxes
downandbeatouttheincumbentandtwo
challengers in a four-way field.
“It took something for me to get
involved, and here I am,” he said.
Sunday • December 13, 2015 www.magicvalley.com • $3.00
Bridge F6
Crossword F5
Dear Abby F2
Jumble F7
Obituaries C7
Opinion C1
Sports B1
Sudoku F3
IfYou Do One Thing: Gooding Community Chorale
and Orchestra perform “The Silence and the Sound”
Christmas cantata at 4 p.m.at theWalker Center,605
11th Ave.E,Gooding.Free. Rain/Snow.C12
High 43° 28°Low
Minico Boys Score 80 at Boise Arena • B1
Jerome PoliticsHispanic Political Involvement Still Low Despite Growing Population
DREW NASH,TIMES-NEWS PHOTOS
Student Ambrocio Perez writes down what’s on the board at his English as a Second Language class the evening of Nov. 24 in Jerome. Hispanic involvement
is low in local politics, in the voting booth — and in free ESL classes.
First-time voter Gabriella Gonzalez talks about why
she voted in Jerome’s municipal election Nov. 3.
About this Project
Today’s stories are the last
installment in“El Nuevo
Jerome,”a four-part series
exploring Jerome’s cultur-
al,political and economic
shifts as the
city attracts a
rapidly grow-
ing Hispanic
population.
Times-News
government
reporter
Nathan Brown
and educa-
tion reporter
JulieWootton
devoted six
months to
the special
reporting
project,led
by Enterprise
EditorVirginia Hutchins.
SEE MORE: A special
webpage show-
cases the project.Visit
Magicvalley.com/
jerome to delve deeper
into today’s coverage
and to see the first three
installments,which pub-
lished Aug.30,Oct.4 and
Nov.8.
INTERACT: From
11:30 a.m.to noon Tuesday,
Dec.15,Magicvalley.com
will host a live chat,where
you can ask questions
for Brown andWootton to
answer,give your feed-
back and chat with other
readers about the project.
Participate in the 11:30 a.m.
chat for free at the top of
Magicvalley.com.
More inside
Column: A Night on Patrol in Jerome. PageA8
Immigrants Pin Hopes on Children’s Futures. PageA9
Free ESL Class Enrollment Lags Jerome’s Immigrant
Influx. PageA10
Regional Numbers Show Changing Immigration
Enforcement Priorities. PageA10 Please see POLITICS, A8
Davis
Brown
Wootton

2. A8 • Sunday, December 13, 2015
Politics
Continued from A1
Jennifer Martinez, orga-
nizing director for the
Idaho Community Action
Network and a Wendell
native, said there are a
number of reasons Latinos
are less politically involved,
and ICAN has been work-
ing on increasing their
engagement. One reason:
The Hispanic community
is younger — the median
age of Hispanics in Idaho
in 2010 was 22.5, a full 12
yearsyoungerthanthestate
median. Another part of it,
she said, is basic education
on the American political
process, and on how you
can actually exert some
influence on policies and on
your elected officials here.
“A lot of people are com-
ing from countries that run
very differently,” Marti-
nez said.
The lack of Latino offi-
cials perpetuates itself, she
said. When you don’t see
people running for office
who look like you or talk
about issues
y o u c a r e
about, you’re
less likely to
vote or run
for office.
And elected
o f f i c i a l s
and politi-
cal parties
often reach out only dur-
ing elections.
“There isn’t an ongoing
effort every year to build
that relationship and trust
with the Latino commu-
nity,” she said.
Joe Skaug,one of the los-
ing candidates for Jerome
mayor in 2013, talked about
theneedtodomoretobring
Hispanics into city govern-
ment. Some of the 2015
City Council candidates
talked about this as well as
reachingouttotheHispanic
businesscommunitydown-
town.ChrisBarber,aformer
councilmanwhowonbacka
Council seat in November,
even suggested creating a
Hispanic-themed district
downtownsimilartoBoise’s
Basque block.
On a state level, the 2014
campaign season did see
efforts by some candidates
to reach out to the His-
panic community specifi-
cally. Richard Stallings, a
Democrat and former con-
gressman who lost to U.S.
Rep. Mike Simpson, talked
about immigration reform
frequently on the campaign
trail and made boosting
Latino turnout part of his
strategy. Stallings held a
pro-immigration reform
rally in Twin Falls and cut a
radio ad in Spanish.

How would Idaho
politics look
different if
more His-
panicsvoted?
Martinez
said elected
o f f i c i a l s
would have
to approach
some issues
differently or spend more
time on them. For example,
Martinez doubts Idaho
would have joined the law-
suit against the Obama
administration’s executive
order to end deportation for
undocumented immigrants
who came here as children
(commonly called DREAM-
ers) and their parents. A
federal appeals court has
put the rules on hold, and
the issue may go to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Also, she said, Idaho’s
congressional delegation
would have to make immi-
gration reform a big-
ger priority.
Simpson,who represents
the Magic Valley, opposes
massdeportationofundoc-
umented immigrants and
supports a reform plan that
would allow people who
are here illegally to stay
and work, and to apply for
citizenship if they want it
without having to leave the
country to do so. However,
new House Speaker Paul
Ryan has said Congress
won’t take up immigration
reform during the Obama
administration, which puts
off any action until 2017 at
the earliest if he sticks by
this stance.
“I still believe that it’s
something that we’ve
got to do,” Simpson told
the Times-News editorial
board in November. “We
need to do it sooner rather
than later. And there’s a
path forward that, I think,
can work and can satisfy
most people.”
U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador,
who represents the north-
ern and western parts of the
state, was part of a biparti-
sangroupoflawmakerstry-
ingtoworkoutanimmigra-
tionreformdealin2013,but
he walked away from the
negotiations and has since
been a strong opponent of
Obama’s executive actions.
Martinez believes he might
have kept working on the
issue if more Hispanic peo-
ple voted and there were a
greater risk of political con-
sequences for inaction.
At the state level, Marti-
nez said, issues such as let-
ting DREAMers pay in-state
tuition at state colleges (they
havetopayout-of-staterates
now) and letting undocu-
mentedimmigrantsgetdriv-
er’s licenses would get more
attention if Hispanic people
weremoreinvolved.
About a dozen states
issue driver’s licenses to
undocumentedimmigrants,
including three of Idaho’s
neighbors — Nevada, Utah
andWashington.ICANlob-
bied for such a bill in Idaho
during the 2015 session,
talking to lawmakers and
holding rallies. Supporters
ofsuchlawssaytheybenefit
everyone: Undocumented
immigrants are driving
anyway, so letting them get
licenses would make sure
they know the rules of the
road and can get insurance.
Jeremy Pittard, a Burley
lawyer who has practiced
immigrationlawforsixyears,
saidallowingundocumented
immigrants to get licenses
would help people“tremen-
dously”andrelieveabacklog
in the court system,because
many undocumented immi-
grantsgetarrestedfordriving
withoutalicense.
ICAN is still trying to get
more support for the mea-
sure from both sides of the
aisle. In the 2016 legislative
session, it hopes at least to
get a bill introduced.
“I feel that we haven’t
shown our strength in
numbers as Latinos,” Mar-
tinez said.
Opponents, though,
counter that
issuing driv-
er’s licenses
to undocu-
m e n t e d
immigrants
r e w a r d s
people who
break the law
and opens
the gates to more document
fraud. The chances of such
a law passing in Idaho look
slim at the moment.
House Speaker Scott
Bedke, R-Oakley, said a
driver’s license can be used
as a “stepping-stone docu-
ment,” and he has always
opposed the idea when it
camebeforetheLegislature.
“I’m not supportive of
giving or issuing … any
state-based documents to
illegal immigrants, period,”
Bedke said.
Idaho Hispanics at the Polls
Statewide estimates of voter registration and
turnout from November 2014.
Percent of citizen population
registered to vote:
Percent of citizen population who voted:
All:
60.7%
Hispanic, any
race: 24%
White, non-
Hispanic: 65.8
All:
41.8%
Hispanic, any
race: 17.6%
White, non-
Hispanic: 45.8
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Jerome County
Total Hispanic population
Hispanics Eligible toVote
Citizen Hispanic population 18 and older
Citizen Hispanic population
Citizen Hispanic population
Jerome City
Total Hispanic population
7,145
5,245
2,915
4,200
1,005
2,460
1,545
2,445
3,955
1,605
2005-2009 2009-2013
Citizen Hispanic population 18 and older
485
890
Hispanic populations are growing rapidly in
Jerome County and its largest city.The percent-
age of the Hispanic population eligible to vote is
on the rise, as well, according to these five-year
estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s American Communities Survey
DREW NASH,TIMES-NEWS
Gabriella Gonzalez votes Nov. 3 in Jerome. She was among just 12 percent of
registered voters in Jerome who cast a ballot.
Martinez
Simpson
Bedke
“There isn’t an ongoing effort every year to build that
relationship and trust with the Latino community.”
Jennifer Martinez, organizing director for the Idaho Community Action Network
SUSANWEBB,LEE ENTERPRISES
I
t was a cold Monday
night in November,
and the streets of
Jerome were almost
deserted when Times-News
photographer Drew Nash
and I arrived at the Jerome
police station a little before
8 p.m. There, we met
Officer Marcos Noriega, a
28-year-old with a short
undercut — sides and back
buzzed to the skin, top
just long enough to comb
— and a No-Shave Novem-
ber beard.
As one of the report-
ers working on “El Nuevo
Jerome,” a Times-News
series about the Hispanic
community in Jerome, I
wanted to ride along with
the city’s only officer to
speak fluent Spanish.
Noriega grew up in Wendell
and has worked for the city
of Jerome for seven years,
spending a year and a half
in code enforcement before
becoming a police officer.
Nash got into the front
seat of the Dodge Charger,
and I settled in on the
hard-plastic back seat,
about as comfortable as it
sounds. Facing me, stuck
to the back of the pas-
senger seat, was a yellow
frowning-face sticker with
tears dripping from its eyes.
At least I could stretch my
arms, which is probably
more than the seat’s usual
occupants can say.
Sgt. Dennis Clark, who
set up the ride-along, had
predicted it would be a
slow night.
The first call was a noise
complaint at the North-
side Court Apartments:
someone calling about a
neighbor’s loud music.
Nash and I hung back in the
parking lot — close enough
to see what was happening,
far enough back to be out of
the way — as Noriega talked
first to the complainant,
then to the people playing
the music.They agreed to
keep a lid on it,and we were
back in the car.
As we drove, we talked
about which areas of
town and which times
of year keep the police
busy. Noriega said sum-
mers can be busier, as
events at the Jerome
County Fairgrounds
and elsewhere can lead
to noise complaints
and drinking-related
problems like fights and
drunken driving. This year
was quieter in that regard
than some past ones. It
can be hard to predict,
Noreiga said — sometimes
a Friday night will be slow
and a Tuesday unexpect-
edly busy.
“Which is good,” he said.
“It keeps you on your toes.”
The few hours we spent
with Noriega were fairly
quiet, most of the time
occupied by patrolling and
traffic stops for offenses
such as speeding or having
a headlight out.
Between calls, Noriega
drives all over town, fol-
lowing a general pattern as
he hits residential neigh-
borhoods, enforces traffic
laws on the main streets
and checks on businesses.
As he drove, he explained
why he made a point of
checking on certain places:
This pharmacy or this stor-
age company has been bur-
glarized before; this store
got broken into recently so
he checks the plaza several
times a night.
Noriega tries to check on
the city’s businesses every
night — almost all of which
are closed during the night
shift, except for a handful
of bars and gas stations
and big operations like
Jerome Cheese.
“It kind of gives the
business owners a little bit
of peace of mind, know-
ing that we’re out here,”
he said.
As we drove around
a subdivision of newer
duplexes east of Tiger
Drive, I asked Noriega
about his role as the only
officer to speak fluent
Spanish. Noriega’s parents
are from San Pedro de la
Cueva, in Sonora, Mexico,
and came to the U.S. in the
late 1970s. They lived in
California for a few years
before his father, a logger,
came to Idaho and settled
down in Wendell. Noriega
and his brothers were born
in America, and Noriega
spoke mostly Spanish at
home when he was young.
A Night on
Patrol in Jerome
DREW NASH,TIMES-NEWS
Police officer Marcos Noriega performs a routine traffic stop the night of
Nov. 23 in Jerome.
Reporter
Nathan
Brown
Please see BROWN, A9
For six months, Times-
News photographers have
documented Jerome’s big
changes for the “El Nuevo Jerome” project. See all of the
photos — including many previously unpublished shots
— at Magicvalley.com.

3. Sunday, December 13, 2015 • A9
T
he new face of Jerome is perhaps
nowhere more evident than in the
city’s Stoney Ridge subdivision,
where many of the freshly built houses
are occupied by Jerome’s first-generation
immigrants.
Along 21st and
22nd Avenues
East,between
Tiger Drive and
Fillmore Street in
northeast Jerome,
most — but not all
— of the residents
are Hispanic.
When men work
on a Ford in some-
one’s driveway or children play in front yard
pools,they’re likely to speak Spanish.
Times-News readers met the people of Stoney
Ridge in four special stories this year. If you
missed the first three installments on Aug. 30,
Oct. 4 and Nov. 8, catch up at Magicvalley.
com/jerome.
JULIE WOOTTON
jwootton@magicvalley.com
JEROME • Marta Aba-
los volunteers to chaperon
school trips for her two
children, but not speaking
English fluently holds her
back from volunteering in
classroomsandjoiningpar-
ent groups.
Abalos, from Guada-
lajara, Mexico, arrived in
Jerome 11 years ago and
lives in the city’s Stoney
Ridge subdivision. Her pri-
ority, she said through an
interpreter, is to make sure
her children receive a good
education.DaughterDanais
infifthgrade,andsonDiego
is in second grade.
Her goal? “That they will
be someone in life,” such as
a doctor or attorney.
She didn’t finish her own
college degree. In Mexico,
Abalos was studying tour-
ism, but she moved to the
U.S. to make money and
never returned to school.
After years in Jerome,
Abalos and other adult
immigrants in Stoney Ridge
have a vision of a better
future.But often that vision
centers on ensuring their
children go to college — not
on investing much in their
owneffortstolearnEnglish.
The barriers to signing
up for an English class?
Lack of time, some Jerome
immigrants say. Busy work
schedules. Fear.
Abalos and some of her
neighbors attended classes
but didn’t become fluent.
Others haven’t tried.

On a mid-November
afternoon, Abalos was at
her 21st Avenue East home
with her children and a girl
shebaby-sits.Thegirlswere
eating after-school snacks
while Abalos’ son, wearing
a Ninja Turtle T-shirt, slid
around on the kitchen floor
in his socks.
Like many of her neigh-
bors, Abalos wants to give
her children a better life.
But she’s unhappy with the
education they receive in
Jerome because it doesn’t
include enough emphasis
on respect. “Schools don’t
focus on good manners,”
shesaid.Abalosputsalotof
effortintoteachingherchil-
dren those traits at home,
but they’re not reinforced
at school.
Abalos knows she has
somethingtolearn,too.She
wants to get more plugged
into Jerome activities, but
thatlanguagebarrierstands
in her way.
Her daughter becomes
frustratedwhenAbalosasks
her to translate, and Abalos
believes it’s the responsi-
bility of parents to learn
English. She learned some
in Mexico and has picked
up words by listening to her
children.Butit’snotenough
to carry on a conversation.
Years ago, Abalos went
to English classes through
a Catholic charity, but time
was spent mostly on work-
sheets, she said. “It didn’t
help me.”
Abalos knows English
letters but didn’t get help
with pronunciation. At
times, the two-hour classes
were so boring that some
people fell asleep.
Other immigrant adults
in the Stoney Ridge
neighborhood tell simi-
lar stories.
Seven years ago, Josefina
Cervantes and her hus-
band went to a few Eng-
lish classes. They stopped
because she was having
trouble picking it up.
Herhusbandknewalittle
English when they lived in
Mexico. “He can express
himself good,” Cervantes
said through an interpreter.
Sometimes, her husband
studies an English instruc-
tional book they received at
the class.
Some other Stoney Ridge
residentshaven’tattempted
to learn English. Brayan
Garcia, 19, said he hasn’t
heard his parents talk about
taking English classes. His
parents, undocumented
immigrants, have been in
Jerome more than 20 years.
Down the street, Faviola
Jimenez said through an
interpreter that she’s look-
ing for English classes that
run every day — not just
twice a week, like the Col-
legeofSouthernIdaho’sfree
classes in Jerome.
So far, she hasn’t
found anything.

In language learning,
children often lead the way.
Rigoberto Gonzalez lives
with his wife, Esmeralda,
and three children on 22nd
Avenue East. He said he’s a
U.S. citizen but speaks lim-
itedEnglish.Hiswifespeaks
both languages fluently.
One late-October after-
noon, Rigoberto sat on
the sofa surrounded by his
young son, wearing a fleece
onesie, and two daughters,
eating after-school snacks.
Toys covered the living
room floor.
Thedaughtersknowboth
EnglishandSpanishalready.
On school forms, there was
only one line to list their
oldest daughter’s native
language,so the Gonzalezes
wrote“Spanish.”Butschool
staff discovered the girl did
extremely well on an Eng-
lish language test.
Esmeralda told her hus-
band they should have
entered “English” instead.
Immigrants Pin Hopes on Children’s
Futures, not on Learning English
DREW NASH,TIMES-NEWS PHOTOS
Marta Abalos plays Jenga Math with daughter Dana Gonzalez, 10, during the annual math night Nov.
18 at Horizon Elementary School in Jerome. Abalos says her children’s education is her priority, but
not speaking fluent English holds her back from volunteering in their classrooms.
Dana Gonzalez, 10, left, and brother Diego, 7, work on tablets while their
mother, Marta Abalos, watches during math night at Horizon Elementary
School.The family lives in Jerome’s Stoney Ridge subdivision.
MATTHEW GOOCH,TIMES-NEWS
Acknowledgement
The Times-News thanks volunteer interpreters
Raquel Arenz, Deyanira Escalona, Eduardo
Maciel, Cesar Perez and Melyssa Perez, who
assisted reporters with this project.
O
ne blustery
afternoon in
late October,
Josefina Cervantes sat
in her living room on
21st Avenue East,in
Jerome’s Stoney Ridge
neighborhood.Her
7-year-old son,Luis
Francisco Capilla,was
in his room down the
hallway listening to a
high-pitched Sesame
Street song on a tablet.
What’s her vision
for the future?“No se,”
Cervantes said through
an interpreter.I don’t
know.But she wishes
her family’s financial
situation was better.
During warmer
months,Cervantes’
husband,Victor
Manuel Capilla,
installs irrigation
systems and does
landscaping work in
SunValley.During
winter,he doesn’t have
a job.
His employer sends
him to Twin Falls to
remove snow occa-
sionally,but it’s not
every day.To survive
during the off-season,
the family gets a
loan from a bank and
receives financial help
from a son.
Capilla receives
$300 per month
in unemployment
benefits.He can’t work
more hours,Cervantes
said,or he’d lose those
benefits.
And word would get
back to his manager if
he worked somewhere
else.“If the boss
knows,he will fire
him,”she said.
Fall and winter are
difficult,Cervantes
said.They buy the
bare essentials at the
grocery store.
And Cervantes
hasn’t seen her fam-
ily in Mexico since
she left Tecoman,on
the Pacific Coast,12
years ago.That led to
depression,she said.
“It’s hard when you
don’t have family.”
But she has made
friends in Jerome,
including a woman she
calls a sister.They’re
from the same region
in Mexico.God gave
her another sister,she
said,and made her
happy that way.
Cervantes has five
children — three sons
and two daughters.
Her oldest son is
married and lives in
Wendell with his wife
and two children.
And Cervantes has a
nephew in Twin Falls.
But several of her
children are in Mexico.
Cervantes used her
phone to pull up her
second son’s Facebook
profile.He lives in
Colima and is married
with two children.
Cervantes’daughters
are also in Mexico.
Here in the Magic
Valley,she said,she’s
extremely stressed
about her 7-year-old
son,who has a devel-
opmental disability.
She wonders who will
take care of him when
she dies.
The only word he
can say is“Papa,”
Cervantes said,and
he’s receiving extra
help at Horizon
Elementary School.
He’s learning slowly
and loves going to
school.“He comes
back happy.”
—JulieWootton
Meet Josefina
Cervantes
Police
officer
Marcos
Noriega
responds
to a noise
com-
plaint at
Northside
Court
Apartments
on Nov. 23
in Jerome.
DREW NASH,
TIMES-NEWS
Brown
Continued from A8
He said speaking Spanish
has been a major asset, one
that comes in handy fre-
quently as a police officer
in Jerome.
“It’s an almost everyday
occurrence,” he said. He
often gets called by fel-
low Jerome officers — and
occasionally by other local
agencies — to interpret,
especially in cases of a
serious crime. Occasion-
ally, he has to stay late or
take calls outside of his
regular shifts.
Noriega said his
Spanish helps everybody
— the victims and wit-
nesses who want to be
sure they’re understood,
and the police and pros-
ecutors, so there won’t
be any question about
something being misun-
derstood if a case goes
to court.
We made a turn into
the Stoney Ridge subdivi-
sion, an area with many
Hispanic families where
my fellow reporter Julie
Wootton, especially,
has spent many hours
as we worked on this
series. Noriega said the
neighborhood, at the
edge of the city, is the
usual northerly limit of
his patrol area. He likes
driving around when the
weather is nicer, because
kids are often out playing.
“Always carry police
stickers,” he said, hold-
ing up a stack.“They
will bombard you (for)
police stickers.”
As we made a left onto
North Hayes and then
another left, cruising
slowly down 21st Avenue
East, we talked about the
case of Damian Garcia
Eudabe, a 2-year-old boy
who was hit by a truck and
killed as he played outside
on his street. Noriega, who
acted as the interpreter
when Idaho State Police
interviewed driver Bernave
Avila-Romero, pointed out
the spot where the boy was
killed in September 2014.
It was right in front of
Marta Abalos’ house. Aba-
los was the first woman
Wootton and I interviewed
when we started to visit
the neighborhood this
spring, and she told us
her young children saw
the accident.
When it was time for
me to head back and start
writing, Noriega dropped
me off in the police station
parking lot.
We shook hands, and he
drove back into the night.

4. A10 • Sunday, December 13, 2015
JULIE WOOTTON
jwootton@magicvalley.com
JEROME • They’re free.
They come with free child
care. And, to appeal to
working folks, they’re in
the evening.
ButtheCollegeofSouth-
ern Idaho’s adult English
classesforSpanishspeakers
have a lot of empty chairs
in Jerome.
Enrollment hasn’t kept
pace with the city’s rapidly
growing population of His-
panic immigrants.
But that population
boom is part of the expla-
nation. Some Spanish-
speaking immigrants don’t
see learning English as a
priority when offices hire
bilingual employees, Mexi-
can stores populate Lincoln
Avenue and Mass is cel-
ebrated in Spanish.
“They can function
pretty well without know-
ing English,” said Jennifer
Hall, CSI’s adult basic edu-
cation director.
Other barriers include
a lack of transportation or
infant care, and conflicting
work schedules.
Even those who take the
plunge and sign up for a
three-month course might
notstickwithit.Attendance
dwindles as each semester
progresses.
“It always starts out
strong,”Hallsaid.Typically,
about 15 people register for
each of CSI’s two classes
in Jerome. But one evening
in late November, after the
weather turned cold, only
a total of eight showed up.
Among them was Fabi-
ola Rodriguez, who wants
to learn English to bet-
ter communicate with her
daughter’s school. The
Jerome woman spends six
hours a week learning how
to read, write and speak
the language.
“It’s more hard to speak,
for me,” she said.
Though not numerous,
the students are dedicated
and committed to learn-
ing, instructor Samantha
Fletcher said. Many are up
early — perhaps 5 a.m. — to
work at dairies or agricul-
tural jobs, and they have
children to care for.
Their motivation? A
desire to help children with
their homework, get a bet-
ter job or communicate
with doctors.
“They really have a
personal investment,”
Fletcher said.

CSI has offered free
English as a Second Lan-
guage classes — for those 16
and older — for more than
a decade in Jerome. After
signing up, students must
take a placement test.
At its Twin Falls campus,
the college offers four levels
of ESL classes, with both
day and night sessions. At
outreach sites — Jerome,
Wendell,Burley,Rupertand
Hailey — it offers two levels
of classes. CSI will also try
to get ESL classes up and
running in Buhl this spring.
With only two classes
in Jerome, students have a
wide range of abilities.
“It’s like a one-room
schoolhouse,” Hall said.
This school year, the
program has a new funding
source. As of July 1, classes
arepaidforthroughthefed-
eral Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act.
DREW NASH,TIMES-NEWS
English as a Second Language student Raquel Fernandez Hidalgo, left, looks at her book while first-
year teacher Samantha Fletcher asks the class questions the evening of Nov. 24 at the Jerome School
District offices.
Free ESL Class Enrollment Lags Jerome’s Immigrant Influx
How to
Register
The College of Southern
Idaho offers free English
as a Second Language
classes 6-9 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays
at the Jerome School
District administration
building,125 Fourth Ave.
W.,Jerome.
There’s also a children’s
program for 5- to
12-year-olds.
The next semester-long
classes start Jan.19.ESL
students must register
and take a placement
test in advance.
Information: Anna,
208-324-5101.
NATHAN BROWN
nbrown@magicvalley.com
JEROME • An undocu-
mented immigrant in
Jerome is less likely to be
deported now than a few
years ago — unless he com-
mits a serious crime.
Regional immigration
arrest and deportation order
numbersshowthatthenum-
berofpeoplebeingpickedup
and deported has fallen over
the past couple of years as
national directives to focus
enforcement efforts on more
seriousordangerousoffend-
ershavetakeneffect.
Idaho is under the juris-
diction of the immigration
court in Portland, Ore.
Both the hearings held in
Boise and U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement
records of “interior remov-
als”showthenumbershave
generally been falling.
The number of deporta-
tionsorderedinBoisepeaked
at376inthe2006fiscalyear
(federal fiscal years run from
Oct. 1 of the year before to
Sept. 30 of the current), but
wasdownto181in2013.Just
114wereorderedin2014and
69 in 2015.
ICE tracks deportations
by region, not by state. The
Salt Lake City field office,
which covers Idaho, Mon-
tana, Utah and Nevada, had
6,023 removals in the 2012
fiscal year, falling to 3,868
in 2013; 1,769 in 2014; and
530 in the period from Oct.
1,2014,toMarch7,2015,the
last date for which numbers
were available.
The number of removals
that happen after someone
is apprehended at a border
has been rising since 2010,
while “interior removals”
havefallenduringthattime.
“Removals” counts only
immigrants who go through
a formal court process end-
ing in a court order expel-
ling them.
Until about midway
through President George
W. Bush’s second term,
people caught at the border
were more likely to be sim-
ply turned around without
going to court, but in 2007
the share who were put
through the“removal”pro-
cess started to go up, part
of a strategy to deter illegal
immigration. As this rose,
the share of less formal
“returns” started to fall.
Both trends continued into
the Obama administration,
with the economic down-
turn leading to fewer people
trying to cross the border
anyway and helping to fuel
a further drop in returns.
Interior removals started
toriseduringthesecondhalf
of the Bush administration
and into President Barack
Obama’s first term, peaked
at 188,422 in the 2011 fiscal
year, and then started to fall,
to 102,224 in the 2014 fis-
cal year. Taken together, the
deportation numbers have
provided simultaneous fod-
derforDemocratsseekingto
defend the administration’s
policies, for right-wing
critics who accuse Obama
of manipulating the data
to make his policies look
tougher than they are, and
for immigrant rights advo-
cates who say his depor-
tation policies have been
too harsh, some of whom
dubbed him the “deporter-
in-chief”afewyearsagodue
to the rise in removals.
The share of deportees
who have been convicted of
acrimehasbeenrisingsince
2010, reaching 85 percent
in 2014.
Whether a particular
crime will get you deported,
though, depends on the
policy at the moment.

Jeremy Pittard is a
Burley lawyer who used
to be a Jerome County
public defender and has
practiced immigration law
for six years. When Pittard
first started
practicing,
ICE would go
after people
wh o we re
charged with
d o m e s t i c
battery, DUIs
or even fail-
ure to pur-
chase a driver’s license.
Pittard said in November
that ICE seemed to have
narrowed down whom it
pursues, and some local
sheriffstoldtheTimes-News
in August 2014 that ICE
wasn’t putting immigration
holds on as many offenders
as before.Twin Falls County
Sheriff’sCapt.DougHughes
saidinNovemberthatnotall
undocumented immigrants
who go through the jail end
up in ICE’s custody. He
estimated that ICE detains
someone at the jail every
other month.
“It all depends on their
status, and … if they meet
therequirementsfordepor-
tation or not,” Hughes said.
Pittard said, though, that
starting around October he
and other immigration law-
yershereandinUtahstarted
to notice ICE was picking
up people who had been
convicted of DUI but had
already paid their fines and
finished their probation.
Local authorities notify
thefedsifanundocumented
immigrant is arrested on a
felony charge. And Jerome
and other Magic Valley
counties comply with fed-
eral immigration holds —
written requests to hold
someone for an extra 48
hoursaftertheirreleasedate
while federal authorities
decidewhethertotakethem
into custody for removal.
Immigration authorities
visit the Jerome County
Jail frequently and have a
good relationship with the
county,SheriffDougMcFall
said in June.
“A lot of times, if an
undocumented (person)
is arrested
and in jail, if
they’re ready
to bond out,
the immi-
g r a t i o n
officers will
even talk to
them on the
phone for a
few minutes and advise us
if there’s a hold for them
under their protocols, or
advise us if they’re good to
be released after they bond
out,” McFall said.
With the exception of a
few high-profile and con-
troversial state laws — such
as ones in Arizona and Ala-
bama that required police
to check people’s immigra-
tion status — local police
in America generally don’t
enforce immigration laws
or arrest people for being
in the country illegally, and
Jerome is no exception.
PoliceChiefDanHallsaid
his department coordinates
with federal authorities
if they are
investigat-
ing a suspect
who is in
the country
illegally, but
Jerome police
d o n ’t a s k
about some-
one’s status
unless they’re a suspect.
There are undocumented
immigrants who live in
Jerome, he said, and the
police department needs
to be able to engage with
them and strike a balance:
apprehending criminals
without alienating people
who might need help.
“Essentially, our general
policy is, if a person comes
to us, especially if they’ve
come here seeking help or
they’re a victim to a crime
or a witness to a crime, we
do not want to discourage
themfromworkingwiththe
police,”Hallsaid.“However,
if we have reason to believe
a person has committed a
serious crime or they are
wanted for a serious crime
… and they are not docu-
mented, then we will notify
the proper authorities and
try to assist them in identi-
fying that person.”

What happens to
people who get picked up
by ICE? The court process
works similarly to a normal
criminal case in that the
defenseattorneyandprose-
cutor try to work out a deal,
butthedefensedoesn’thave
as many plays, Pittard said.
In the case of an undocu-
mented immigrant, Pittard
said,cancellationofremoval
is possible for people who
have been here for at least
10 years, are of good moral
character, have a relative
who is here legally, don’t
have any aggravated felony
convictions, and can dem-
onstrate extreme hardship
if they were to be deported.
He gave an example of a
case of his: A mother of five
children was an undocu-
mented immigrant who
had been abused by her
husband, and the husband
was deported. The court
closed the case against her
and decided to let her try
to get legal status through
her children.
Pittard said the lack of
options for many of his cli-
ents can make it a difficult
area of law. “Immigration
court is a very, very tough
court to practice in.”
Pittard’s clients range
from people who have been
here for decades to ones
who have been here just a
few months.
“There’s people that are
here, a lot of people (who
are) just undocumented that
came a long time ago,” he
said.“Idealwithpeoplethat
have their green card (and)
got into some trouble.Other
people that have familyback
home,thataretryingtohelp
out their family back home.”
After ICE picks people
up, they generally are
detained temporarily in
Idaho — locally, Pittard
said, the Mini-Cassia
Criminal Justice Center is
the usual holding location
— before being shipped to
an ICE detention facility.
For arrests around here, it’s
usually the detention facil-
ity in Spanish Fork, Utah.
Many undocumented
immigrants, Pittard said,
end up on ICE’s radar when
they get pulled over for
traffic infractions. Some-
thing as simple as having
too much ice on your wind-
shield can lead to an arrest
if you don’t have a license
or insurance. Drinking can
also lead to trouble, when
people drink and drive or
when it leads to domestic
disputesorunrulybehavior.
If you drink and if you
drive, Pittard tells his cli-
ents, do those separately.
Numbers Show Changing Enforcement Priorities
Pittard
McFall
Hall
Mexico
Total
Mexico
Total
Immigration Cases
People from Mexico account for well more than half
of the immigration-related cases heard by federal
immigration judges in Boise, and many of the cases
involving non-Mexicans are people from other
Latin American countries. Idaho falls under the
jurisdiction of the Portland Immigration Court, part
of the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
Number of Deportations Ordered
Number of People Allowed to Stay
Pending Cases
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0
50
100
150
200
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Mexico
Total
Note:The years shown are federal fiscal years, so “2015” means from Oct. 1, 2014, to
Sept. 30, 2015.The numbers do not reflect every immigration-related arrest or case
that may have originated in Idaho during that time.
Source: Court records held by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which
oversees immigration courts, released to the Transactional Records Access
Clearinghouse after a Freedom of Information Act request
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Sav-Mor Drug Twin FallsVisitor’s Center
Mini-CassiaVisitor’s Center
The Jerome School Dis-
trict uses grant money to
provide a children’s pro-
gram for 5- to 12-year-olds
during nights when ESL
classes are in session and
encourages children to
bring their homework to
get extra help.

Six adults in the
level-two class gathered
on a Tuesday night in late
November in an upstairs
classroom at the Jerome
School District office.
Sitting in yellow and
orange plastic chairs, they
practiced interviewing
each other in English and
answering questions in
complete sentences. Occa-
sionally, students had side
conversations in Spanish.
The mood was light-
hearted, with students and
their instructor laughing
frequently.
Members of the level-
two class are “not quite
beginners,” Fletcher said.
“They can read in English
pretty well.”
They’re also working
on writing and vocabu-
lary. Students spend three
hours in class, with only
one 15-minute break, twice
a week.
This night, students
answered food-related
questions: Do you have
a guilty pleasure? What
dishesfromyourcountrydo
you recommend? What was
the last meal you cooked? Is
anyoneinyourfamilyaveg-
etarian?
Fletcher filled in her
answers on a grid on a
whiteboard. Under guilty
pleasure, she wrote “choc-
olate.” A few students nod-
ded in agreement. Then
she asked each student
to explain his answers
in English.
Hugo Urrutia said he
cooked steak recently but
struggled to find the Eng-
lish word for “grill.” His
classmates helped him out.
ThenheaskedFletcher:“Do
you like carnitas, teacher?”
What’s in it? Fletcher
asked. Students described
the ingredients, such
as pork, paprika and
ground cumin.
“I think I would like it
very much,” she said.
One class member enjoys
eating fish. Fletcher asked
her what type of fish.When
she looked confused, her
classmates prompted,
“¿Que tipo de marisco?”
Another explained that
his favorite dish from Mex-
ico is pancita, a soup made
with beef stomach.

D u r i n g t h e d ay,
Fletcher teaches fourth
grade at Summit Elemen-
tary School. It’s her first
year teaching ESL classes
for CSI. She was looking
for something new and
fun and wanted to bet-
ter connect with parents
in Jerome.
Fletchertooktwoyearsof
Spanish in high school and
twoyearsincollege.Andshe
has picked up a lot working
in Jerome, interacting with
parents and listening to
Spanish conversations.
Fletchermadeadealwith
her ESL students on the
first day of class: She’d help
them learn English if they’d
teach her Spanish.
“They laugh at my Span-
ish,” she said.
At first, students didn’t
ask many questions or
engage in conversation.
After a while, Fletcher said,
“they’ve gotten to trust me
enough to open up.”
Students in her class
have been in Jerome from
a few months to more than
a decade.
UrrutiahaslivedinJerome
foraboutsevenyearsandhas
two children, ages 3 and 11.
He wants to learn English so
he can communicate at the
hospital and at work.
Learning English is a
long, slow process, said
classmate Camelia Con-
treras. “It’s hard.” But she
makes it a priority to come
to every class.
Hall stresses with the
instructors that students
need to be given something
valuable every class.
Their time is precious,
she said. “The students
who are here really want to
be here.”
DREW NASH,TIMES-NEWS
Erica Rogers, an English as a Second Language teacher, waits for students to
arrive for class Nov. 24 in Jerome.
ESL
Continued from A10
SCOTT MABEN
The Spokesman-Review
SPOKANE, WASH. (AP)•
A young mother sat before
a judge in Sandpoint and
gave a heart-wrenching
statement about the sexual
abuse of her 21-month-
old daughter.
“I’m here today to see
thatmanisputawaybehind
bars for what he did to my
baby girl,” she said.
Two attorneys sat
between her and her ex-
boyfriend, who was about
tobesentencedtoprisonfor
lewd conduct with a minor.
Scenes like this are all too
commonincourtrooms.But
on this day, for this nervous
and devastated mom, there
was something new.
At her side all morning
was the reassuring presence
of Ken, a retriever mix with
a sweet face and a serene
disposition. Waiting for her
turntospeak,thewomansat
in the gallery with friends at
hersideandKen’sheadrest-
ing in her lap. Then he lay at
her feet as she described the
pain and shattered trust the
abuse had wrought.
It was the first time Ken
had accompanied a person
appearing before a judge in a
Bonner County courtroom,
but the 2 1/2-year-old dog
had been preparing for it his
entire life.
Ken was trained by
Canine Companions for
Independence to provide
emotional support to vic-
tims, witnesses and oth-
ers in a judicial setting. He
wears a Canine Compan-
ions vest when he’s work-
ing. And for a young dog
who loves to run and play
catch, Ken transforms into
an affectionate old soul
when he’s on duty.
“His behavior and tem-
perament are what make
him great as a facility dog,
because he’s obviously very
chill. He’s pretty relaxed,”
said Peggy Frye, a Victim
Witness Unit coordinator
in the Bonner County Pros-
ecuting Attorney’s Office.
Ken joined the staff in
August and works full days
MondaythroughFriday.Frye
is his primary handler, and
heslumbersonalargebedin
the corner of her office. Ken
alsoliveswithFrye,herhus-
band, their three teenagers
and “one grumpy cat right
now,”shesaid.“Turboisnot
a Ken fan. He’s slowly com-
ing around.”
But Ken is a popular
addition in the prosecutor’s
office. His presence has
lifted morale, Frye said.
“We’ve had some upset-
ting cases recently here.
And probably the one
thing that really carries us
through is Ken,” she said.
“When we take a hit and we
come back feeling defeated,
Ken just doesn’t care. He
wants to play ball. And he
gets you out of your funk.”
Comfort for
victims
Ken’s primary role is to
comfort crime victims and
witnessesastheymeetwith
attorneys and prepare to go
into court. Eventually he
is expected to accompany
witnesses on the stand, too.
Studies have shown dogs
like Ken can lower a per-
son’s blood pressure and
keep hormone levels in
check, said Ellen O’Neill-
Stephens, a retired deputy
prosecuting attorney
who started the nonprofit
Courthouse Dogs Founda-
tion in Bellevue, Washing-
ton,to promote use of these
dogs in the legal system.
“Theotherthingsthatwe
hear from a lot of victims
and witnesses is that the
dog makes them feel safe,”
O’Neill-Stephens said.
“When you have high
emotions that take over
your body—fear, anxiety,
anger—you’re less articu-
late. It impairs your ability
to speak,”she said.
A special emphasis of
Ken’s calming effect will be
abused children who strug-
gle through a legal process
that has them tell strang-
ers, over and over, the bad
things that have happened
to them.
“We would like to have
Ken brought in so he can be
that constant face through
it all. As the kid is meeting
all these different strang-
ers, Ken could walk him
or her through that whole
process and try to make it a
little more comfortable for
them,” she said.
In the first case Ken
worked,hespenttimewitha
family that was terrorized in
anattemptedhomeinvasion
robbery in October 2014.
The assailant, a convicted
killer,brokeintotheirwater-
fronthouseandattackedthe
father with bear repellent.
The victim, his wife and
their daughter barricaded
themselves in a bedroom,
and the attacker fled.
The daughter, who now
is 20 and attending college,
said she was more angry
than fearful when she faced
thedefendantincourtinhis
September trial for aggra-
vated battery and burglary.
“WhenIactuallysawhim,
I felt so much anger that I
never felt before. I wanted
to see this guy dead, really. I
was so angry and so upset,”
said Mala, who asked that
her last name not be used.
Ken relieved her stress
and helped her stay com-
posed in the courtroom.
“I felt way happier. I
didn’t even really think
about the case anymore. I
was just having fun with
this dog. And he was so
funny and adorable,” she
said. “He was always there,
and he was giving me kisses
allthetime,andIgottoplay
fetch with him. It just made
thewholeexperiencelighter
and better.”
Use of dogs is
growing
“He’sjustheretohandout
love,” Frye said.“He doesn’t
carewhoyouare.Hedoesn’t
care if you’re a defendant, a
victim,awitness.Hedoesn’t
care if you’re rich, poor,
what clothes you have on.
He’s neutral.”
In addition, representa-
tives of the Courthouse
Dogs Foundation spent
two days in Sandpoint to
instruct the prosecutor’s
staff, judges and attorneys
in how Ken works and how
to use him in the criminal
justice system.
“When I first started this
it was extremely difficult to
convince people this wasn’t
just some gimmick,” said
O’Neill-Stephens of the
foundation.
The organization has
developed working stan-
dards to ensure the dogs do
not make a witness more
sympathetic to a jury or
create prejudice against
a defendant.
Advocates have won six
appellate court decisions
validating the use of court-
house dogs, and more than
90 of the dogs are work-
ing around the U.S. That
includes Ada County in
Idaho and Kitsap, Pierce,
Skagit, Snohomish, Thur-
ston and Clark counties in
Washington.
The King County Pros-
ecuting Attorney’s Office
was the first in the nation to
use a courthouse dog. Ellie,
who spent 11 years helping
thousands of children and
adults in King County, died
three weeks ago.
“Over the course of her
career she helped thou-
sands of people in drug
court, juvenile detention,
mental health court, in tri-
als and forensic interviews,”
O’Neill-Stephens said.
Ellie helped save taxpay-
erstheexpenseofmanytri-
als because she put victims
andwitnessesatease,help-
ing them give fuller state-
ments to investigators and
prosecutors, she said.
Courthouse Dog Puts Vulnerable at Ease