EAGLE, Idaho — A post from a familiar watering hole in downtown Eagle, offering a free month of drinks to anyone who helps federal agents deport an undocumented immigrant, is sparking debate after the Department of Homeland Security shared it on its official social media account.
WATCH | Senior Reporter Don Nelson interviews owner of Old State Saloon about the recent X post—
Old State Saloon posted on Nov. 29 that it would give “FREE BEER FOR ONE MONTH” to anyone assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in identifying and deporting “an illegal from Idaho.”
Hours later, DHS’s verified account reposted the message along with a GIF, raising questions about whether the agency is endorsing the promotion. Idaho News 6 has contacted DHS and ICE for clarification but has not received a response.
Saloon owner Mark Fitzpatrick defended the decision.
"I'm saying is if you do that and you give the information to ICE and ICE deports them, then you get the reward. This is not about taking action or using force or anything like that. We're just giving information to the authorities, to the law enforcement who's enforcing the laws of the land."
Fitzpatrick told Idaho News 6 he's received hundreds of calls since his so-called promotion made headlines, telling Sr. Reporter Don Nelson, "The feedback is from people across the country and it's both positive feedback and then negative. So I have everything from. 'We need to franchise your bar across the country,' to, 'we need to burn your bar down tonight,' and this is interesting because I get called racist and Nazi and these types of things, fascist."
Nelson asked, Are you a racist? "Absolutely not. I'm Christian. I love all people," Fitzpatrick answered.
Fitzpatrick says its promotion is meant to honor "community heroes" he believes are helping federal agents, like Ryan Spoon. Spoon was announced as the first "winner" of the promotion on November 30. The bar's social media called him its first "hero" — saying his tip helped deport a "dangerous illegal."
Spoon explained his stance saying, "They have broken the law. If they didn't have legal authorization to enter our country, then the moment they set foot on US soil they were by definition criminals."
Meanwhile, Immigration Attorney J.J. Despain thinks promotions like this can be a slippery slope.
"Looking at it from the immigration angle, I mean, that's the job that ICE is already tasked with doing and cooperating with local law enforcement. I can't speak for ICE. But, I would imagine they don't want just random people doing their job for them, you know, that brings in a lot of risks, a lot of danger."
Legal and Policy Questions
Idaho Alcohol Laws
Idaho regulates how businesses can promote and give away alcoholic beverages under Title 23 — Alcoholic Beverages of the Idaho Statutes.
Captain Rocky Gripton of the Idaho State Police Alcohol Beverage Control Division told Idaho News 6 that offering free beer in this way “would be considered an event outside the normal course of business for an alcohol licensee that seems counter intuitive, but not illegal.” He noted that ABC’s regulatory authority focuses on controlling the sale and purchase of beer and wine between manufacturers or distributors and licensed alcohol retailers.
You can read the statute here: Idaho Title 23 — Alcoholic Beverages
Federal Policy Context
ICE maintains a publicly available procedure for receiving information from members of the public about suspected immigration violations. The process, outlined on ICE’s official website, explains how submitted information is reviewed by Homeland Security Investigations and what criteria may be used to determine whether follow‑up is warranted.
DHS’s own social media guidelines note that "care should be taken when liking and following content created by non-governmental entities to avoid the appearance of US government or Department endorsement of non-governmental statements, activities, or positions."
Read ICE’s policy here: https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form
Read DHS’s social media policy here.
The Wassmuth Center for Human Rights in downtown Boise also released a statement on the incident, adding: "Incentivizing Idahoans to turn in their neighbors to get some free beer further dehumanizes people and divides our communities. Now is not the time to turn our backs on our fellow community members, but rather work to build communities where human rights are a lived reality for all."
Idaho News 6 has reached out to DHS and ICE for comment, but we haven't heard back. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
