Idaho

Idaho families feel effects of new refugee restrictions after D.C. shooting

Published

4 weeks ago

December 9, 2025

Idaho families feel effects of new refugee restrictions after D.C. shooting

BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. refugee system has faced major disruptions over the last year, and new federal restrictions issued just last week are now affecting families here in the Treasure Valley.

The latest changes follow a November ambush-style shooting in Washington, D.C., in which one National Guard member was killed and another wounded. An Afghan man has been charged in the case. In response, the federal government placed additional limits on Afghan immigration processing as part of a broader national security review.

WATCH | Idaho families navigate new delays under tightened federal refugee rules

Idaho families feel effects of new refugee restrictions after D.C. shooting

Under the new restrictions, most new visas for Afghan nationals are on hold. Many immigration and family-reunification cases have been paused, and federal review of pending cases has tightened.

This is not the first major federal policy shift to impact refugees this year.

In January, all U.S. refugee admissions were halted nationwide, immediately affecting families in Idaho who were preparing to reunite with loved ones.

Holly Beech, communications manager with the Idaho Office for Refugees, said the sudden pause triggered an immediate wave of disruptions for families across the state.

“People in Idaho who had loved ones very close, had those flight dates on the calendar, and then those got canceled,” Beech said.

Later in June, the broad shutdown shifted to a country-specific travel ban, restricting travel from 19 nations, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Somalia.

“And people were no longer able to get those visas for their loved ones to come here,” Beech added.

Beech said the deadly shooting in Washington, D.C., has continued to ripple through refugee communities nationwide and right here in Idaho.

RELATED | West Boise YMCA creates special swimming lessons for refugees with special challenges around water

“That kind of violence should never happen to anybody,” Beech said. “So now, due to that, the whole group is having to carry the weight of what one individual did. None of us would want to be held responsible for the actions of somebody else.”

For families already living in Idaho, Beech said even routine legal steps toward permanent residency have stalled under the new restrictions.

“Some people have been waiting over a year to get their green card,” explained Beech.

And for others still separated from family members overseas, the future remains uncertain.

“Any hope of that is in limbo right now,” Beech said.

Federal officials say the pauses and restrictions are part of a broader national security review.

For now, most Afghan visa and immigration processing remains largely on hold.

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Idaho

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Published

5 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Note: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy, and thanks again for coming along on this journey.

EASTERN IDAHO — Dec. 31 marked the end of the first full calendar year of East Idaho Sports. It has been a pleasure to bring our readers coverage of local youth, high school, college and semi-pro sports.

Over the last 12 months, we have covered state champions, national champions, junior hockey league champions, record-breaking performances and so much more. Those of you who have followed along since we launched in August 2024 have seen how we have expanded our coverage to include some interactive features like this Sunday Special series, Game Balls and the Photo of the Week voting.

We look forward to the completion of the winter sports seasons — including some Winter Olympics stories — spring sports, the summer sports schedule and returning next fall to start it all over again.

But we also hope to continue adding to our coverage, and shine spotlights on even more of the great athletes and sports programs in eastern Idaho.

In order to do that, we would like some help.

With just two full-time reporters and one freelance photographer we will regrettably miss things. And while we try to fill those gaps ourselves, we are always open to tips.

If there was a sporting event or sports story that deserved coverage it didn’t receive, please email us at sports@eastidahonews.com. If there is an upcoming event that should be spotlighted, please email us.

Also, our Photo of the Week stories will continue to be posted midday every Monday. If you have photos from a local sporting event that you want to enter in the running, email those to us by Sunday morning. For those who follow the voting — on our public Facebook group East Idaho News – Sports — a reader-contributed photo was recently selected our Photo of the YEAR, and we would love to continue adding those on the weekly ballot.

This photo of West Jefferson’s Justus Burtenshaw during the first round of the state tournament, taken by reader Julie Hall, was selected out East Idaho Sports Photo of the Year.

Finally, we recently added a regular feature we are calling the “Whip-around”: A quick rundown of local high school sports action. In order to expand these stories to include more teams, we would love for coaches, players or parents to send us photos of game scorebooks. If you are linked to a local team and would like your team to be added to these stories, please email us, and we can let you know how to do so.

It has been a pleasure to highlight the many local athletes for their successes and hard work, and we look forward to another year of precisely that.

We will see you at a field, court, course, pool, etc., near you in 2026.