Canyon County probation officers compiled list of foreign-born individuals for ICE
Emails show Idaho department shared details of probationers with immigration agents, including those with legal status
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Canyon County, Idaho
Photograph: Tamanoeconomico via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What this story says
- Canyon County probation officers sent over 140 emails to ICE agents between May and July 2026, coordinating on foreign-born individuals on probation.
- The department compiled a list of 82 foreign-born probationers, 54% of whom were on probation for driving under the influence, without verifying their immigration status.
- Jeff Breach, the department director, stated the list includes individuals born outside the U.S. and those previously flagged with immigration holds.
- Immigration attorneys and advocates warn the practice could lead to detentions of people with legal status, including U.S. citizens.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
65/100
Craft
55/100
Hype
15/100
10 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
In May 2026, a senior probation officer in Canyon County, Idaho, emailed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents about a probationer’s upcoming appointment. Norma Naranjo, a senior officer in the county’s misdemeanor probation department, wrote to six ICE agents on 13 May that the man was expected at 07:30 the following morning. When he arrived early, she emailed again to confirm his presence and ask if agents were en route. The emails, heavily redacted, do not clarify whether ICE detained the man.
Naranjo’s messages were among over 140 emails exchanged between Canyon County probation officers and ICE from May to July 2026. The emails, obtained by the nonprofit newsroom InvestigateWest, show the department compiled a list of 82 foreign-born individuals on probation. The list includes names, charges, and other details, but excludes addresses and dates of birth. Of the 82 individuals, 54% were on probation for driving under the influence, while seven had existing ICE holds.
Jeff Breach, director of the Canyon County Misdemeanor Probation Department, confirmed in an email that the list includes individuals born outside the U.S. and those previously flagged with immigration holds. He stated that verifying legal status is the responsibility of federal authorities. Breach also said ICE requests such lists annually, a practice he claimed dates back to the Obama administration. Steve Cushman, director of constituent services for Canyon County, said he did not know when the requests began but believed they predated the current administration.
The emails show probation officers regularly notified ICE about probationers’ appointment times. In some cases, officers provided ICE with home addresses and vehicle details. Breach estimated ICE agents attended one or two probation appointments per month over the previous three months. Immigration attorneys, including Nikki Ramirez-Smith of Ramirez-Smith Law in Nampa, Idaho, criticised the practice as an invasion of privacy, warning it could lead to detentions of individuals with legal status.
“It’s one thing to know that someone is undocumented, it’s another thing to just start targeting every single person who was born in another country.”
What the coverage left out
None of the digests from the right or centre mentioned the breakdown of charges on the list, including that 54% of the individuals were on probation for driving under the influence. The left-rated digests, including the Associated Press report, carried this detail. The right-rated digest also did not mention the county’s prior criticism for notifying ICE about foreign-born inmates, including U.S. citizens, a fact included in the left-rated reports.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 19 Aug 2026, 23:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- The four left-rated digests led on the specific emails sent by Norma Naranjo to ICE in May 2026, detailing her communication about a probationer’s appointment. The Associated Press, whose full report is printed above, carried the most detail: the exact wording of Naranjo’s emails, the number of emails exchanged, the compilation of the 82-person list, and the concerns raised by immigration attorneys. The AP also quoted Jeff Breach’s statement that the list includes individuals born outside the U.S. and those with prior immigration holds, and noted the county’s history of notifying ICE about foreign-born inmates, including U.S. citizens.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- The five centre-rated digests focused on the broader practice of Canyon County probation officers coordinating with ICE to identify foreign-born individuals on probation. Four of the five led with the emails sent by Naranjo in May 2026, mirroring the left-rated digests. The fifth, from Newsday, framed the story around the compilation of the list itself, noting that officers may have done so without verifying the individuals’ legal status. None of the centre-rated digests quoted specific wording from the emails or named the immigration attorney who criticised the practice.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The single right-rated digest, from the Marietta Daily Journal, led on the coordination between Canyon County probation officers and ICE to identify foreign-born individuals on probation. It noted that emails obtained by InvestigateWest showed officers compiling lists of these individuals, potentially without verifying their legal status. The digest did not mention the specific emails sent by Naranjo in May 2026 or quote any sources, including Jeff Breach or immigration attorneys.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Idaho county’s probation office compiles ‘foreign born list’ for ICE (opens St Catharines Standard in a new tab)
St Catharines Standard — is St Catharines Standard biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Idaho county’s probation office compiles ‘foreign born list’ for ICE (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Idaho county’s probation office compiles ‘foreign born list’ for ICE (opens Associated Press News in a new tab)
Associated Press News — is Associated Press News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Idaho county’s probation office compiles ‘foreign born list’ for ICE (opens The Record in a new tab)
The Record — is The Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Idaho county’s probation office compiles ‘foreign born list’ for ICE (opens The Hamilton Spectator in a new tab)
The Hamilton Spectator — is The Hamilton Spectator biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
4- Idaho county's probation office compiles 'foreign born list' for ICE (opens Newsday in a new tab)
- Idaho county’s probation office compiles ‘foreign born list’ for ICE (opens The Lawton Constitution in a new tab)
The Lawton Constitution — is The Lawton Constitution biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Idaho county’s probation office compiles ‘foreign born list’ for ICE (opens Winnipeg Free Press in a new tab)
Winnipeg Free Press — is Winnipeg Free Press biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Idaho county's probation office compiles 'foreign born list' for ICE (opens East Idaho News in a new tab)
East Idaho News — is East Idaho News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Canyon County probation officers compiled list of foreign-born…?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 50% are rated left, 40% are rated centre, 10% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Canyon County probation officers compiled list of foreign-born… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Canyon County probation officers compiled list of foreign-born… biased?
- Canyon County probation officers compiled list of foreign-born individuals for ICE is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Canyon County probation officers compiled list of foreign-born…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Canyon County probation officers compiled list of foreign-born…?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Canyon County probation officers do?
- Canyon County probation officers compiled a list of 82 foreign-born individuals on probation and shared it with ICE. They also sent over 140 emails to ICE agents between May and July 2026, coordinating on probationers’ appointments and providing details like home addresses and vehicle information.
- Why are immigration attorneys concerned about the list?
- Immigration attorneys warn the list could lead to detentions of individuals with legal status, including U.S. citizens or those with pending asylum claims. The list was compiled without verifying immigration status, and Canyon County has previously notified ICE about foreign-born inmates, including U.S. citizens.
- What charges were most common on the list?
- Of the 82 individuals on the list, 54% were on probation for driving under the influence. The list also included individuals on probation for drug-related crimes and disturbing the peace, but the majority were for DUI offences.
- Which outlets reported the specific emails sent by Norma Naranjo?
- The left-rated digests, including the Associated Press report, led on the specific emails sent by Norma Naranjo to ICE in May 2026. The centre-rated digests also mentioned these emails, but the right-rated digest did not.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
