Full Breakdown
Canyon County Probation Department Shares “Foreign-Born” List with ICE
8/20/2026, 2:34:11 AM
Core Event: Probation Officers Compile and Transmit a List of Foreign-Born Probationers to Immigration Authorities
From May 1 through July 10 2026, investigators obtained more than 140 emails between Canyon County’s misdemeanor probation department and the Boise office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The correspondence shows probation staff using case-file data to create a roster of individuals born outside the United States and forwarding that roster to ICE for immigration-status checks. The redacted list contains 82 names; 54 % are on probation for DUI offenses, while a handful face drug-related or disturbance charges. ICE agents attended one or two probation appointments per month during the period.
Background & Context
Canyon County, Idaho’s second-largest county, has a history of cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. In 2019 the local newspaper reported that the sheriff’s office instructed staff to notify ICE of “all foreign-born inmates,” a practice that sometimes flagged U.S. citizens. The county also faced an ACLU-filed lawsuit over an October 2025 ICE raid at a Wilder horse-track that detained Latino families regardless of status. Idaho Governor Brad Little issued an executive order encouraging law-enforcement agencies to work with ICE, and eleven Idaho agencies have joined the 287(g) program that provides federal funding for immigration-related cooperation.
Timeline
- May 1: Jeff Breach, director of the misdemeanor probation department, instructed staff to compile names of offenders they believed were in the country illegally.
- May 13: Senior probation officer Norma Naranjo emailed ICE agents confirming a probationer’s scheduled 7:30 a.m. check-in for the following day.
- June 3: Naranjo wrote to five ICE officers, “We are working on a procedure to keep a list current for your agency.”
- June 8: Officer Brandon Black replied, “That’s everyone in my cabinet that filled out (an) intake form and stated not born in US.”
- July 10: The final batch of emails in the collection was sent, continuing the pattern of notifying ICE of upcoming probation appointments.
Official Statements & Responses
Jeff Breach emphasized that “verifying and determining legal presence/status, along with any related enforcement, is within the purview of federal authorities.” He added that the department’s cooperation with ICE mirrors practices of other local and state agencies and that the list includes anyone whose birthplace is foreign or who has previously been flagged with an immigration hold. Steve Cushman, director of constituent services for Canyon County, noted that requests for such lists date back to the Obama administration.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The released emails are heavily redacted, and ICE communications are omitted, leaving it unclear whether ICE actually detained the probationer who arrived early on May 13. The list identifies foreign-born individuals but does not confirm each person’s immigration status, creating uncertainty about potential wrongful detentions.
