Idaho governor says some of opponent’s backers ‘hate Mexican people’ in stealthy video
Even retired U.S. Border Patrol czar Greg Bovino had something to say about Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s comments.
In a video posted to X last week, Little and members of his campaign don’t appear to realize they’re being filmed as someone asks questions about Little’s stance on immigration enforcement and an opponent in the Republican primary.
Referring to Mark Fitzpatrick, Little’s leading Republican challenger in the crowded primary race for governor, Little said some of Fitzpatrick’s supporters are “straight racist.”
“They just hate Mexican people,” Little said.
Others caught on video at the campaign event, who are identified as leaders and lobbyists in the state’s agricultural industry, discuss the proportion of the state’s farmworkers who are undocumented, and employers’ challenges in verifying workers’ legal status.
Bovino, who retired from Border Patrol following backlash over the agency’s recent deployment to cities such as Minneapolis, called the comments in the video “textbook cheap-labor politics, Idaho edition.”
Referencing immigration, he wrote: “@GovernorLittle’s response to voters wanting enforcement? Smear them as ‘racists who hate Mexicans.’ ”
The high-profile reaction to the video — and the apparent tactics used to make it — highlight the division in the Republican Party over immigration enforcement. In deep-red Idaho, where Republicans dominate the state’s Legislature and executive branch, disagreement over how aggressively the state should enforce immigration policy has become a litmus test for some of whether Republican politicians are sufficiently conservative.
Little, a rancher who has the backing of the state’s agricultural industry, has been supportive of immigration enforcement efforts. In June, he signed an agreement for Idaho State Police to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and in October he supported an FBI and ICE raid at a horse-racing track in Wilder that led to over 100 immigration-related arrests.
But he largely has avoided the harsh rhetoric employed by Fitzpatrick, his top challenger in terms of fundraising. In February, Little told reporters that Idaho would not see Minneapolis- or Chicago-style immigration enforcement tactics, and expressed reservations about the immigration-related arrest of a father outside his child’s Boise preschool.
That kind of arrest is “not my preference,” he said at the time.
Little’s campaign did not respond to a phone call or emailed questions.
Fitzpatrick, in contrast, has been a vocal supporter of hardline immigration enforcement tactics on social media and through his business. His Eagle bar, for example, offered free beer to customers who help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deport undocumented immigrants.
On X, Fitzpatrick has referred to an influx of refugees and immigrants as an “invasion of Idaho.” He called Little’s comments about him and his supporters “outrageous.”
“The RINO Governor of Idaho just called me and my supporters racist against Mexicans! Because we support federal immigration law?” he wrote, referring to an acronym — Republican in Name Only — that the far right often uses to refer to moderate Republican politicians.
With $1.8 million in campaign contributions, Little far outpaces Fitzpatrick, who has raised about $185,000. Support for Little comes from many Idaho institutions, including Idaho Power, the Idaho Association of Realtors and members of the agricultural industry. In June, President Donald Trump endorsed Little for another term.
The intra-party divide over immigration also played out during the 2026 legislative session, when far-right lawmakers doubled down on their opposition to immigration, legal and illegal, expressing frustration that several bills on enforcement hadn’t made it to the governor’s desk.
On immigration-related bills, Republicans were often divided, debating the pragmatism and legality of such harsh enforcement for state industries and law enforcement.
This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 3:25 PM.
