BOISE, Idaho — As Idaho moved to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Gov. Brad Little promised that the state would help remove “highly dangerous illegal alien criminals.” In a news release last month, Little said Idaho State Police would target only undocumented immigrants convicted of violent crimes and already set to be deported.

But criminal background checks conducted by the Idaho Statesman found that most of the men transported to detention centers had no history of violent convictions.

To conduct this review, the Statesman searched each of the men’s names — and several variations — through databases, including state and federal online public court systems. The Statesman also cross-checked what it found with the descriptions of crimes the Governor’s Office listed for

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