Idaho poll shows 85% support legal status for long-term dairy workers

A survey conducted by Boise State University in fall 2025 found that 85 percent of Idaho adults favor a pathway to legal working status for dairy workers and their families who have lived in the state more than ten years. The poll of 1,000 adults showed 56 percent strongly supportive and 29 percent somewhat supportive, with 9 percent opposed.

Support crossed party lines. Seventy-nine percent of Republicans, 88 percent of independents, and 95 percent of Democrats backed the measure.

Immigration enforcement and farm labor The U.S.

Department of Homeland Security has reported that nearly 3 million people left the country during the first year of the current administration's term. The Center for Migration Studies states that 86 percent of U.S. farmworkers are foreign-born and 45 percent are undocumented.

Between March and July 2025, the national agricultural workforce declined 7 percent amid reported labor shortages in multiple states. Officials had previously indicated that farms would not be targeted.

Idaho dairy sector Agribusiness accounts for 20 percent of Idaho's annual GDP, according to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. The Idaho Dairymen's Association reports that 90 percent of the state's dairy workers are foreign-born. When asked about increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence, 53 percent of respondents said it would harm the state's agricultural economy, while 19 percent said it would help.

Residents in agriculture-dependent regions were more likely to predict economic harm. The survey was designed to focus on long-term residents without criminal records.