BOISE, Idaho — On Oct. 17, Governor Brad Little announced results from a recently implemented Idaho deportation initiative dubbed "Operation No Return."
Funded by the Governor's Office Emergency Funds, the initiative transports immigrants lacking permanent legal status out of Idaho jails upon completion of their sentences and into ICE detention centers.
WATCH: Gov. Little's addresses "Operation No Return"
The Governor's Office Emergency Funds were previously used in the Bryan Kohberger case and Idaho State Police "missions to border states."
"Operation No Return" works in coordination with ICE's 287 (g) program, specifically the Task Force Model. The program allows state and local law enforcement officers to "perform specified immigration officer functions, under the direction and oversight of ICE, and pursuant to a signed agreement, according to the U.S Department of Homeland Security."
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The press release stated that Gov. Little has directed Idaho State Police to "use the 287(g) authority only to transport out of local jails the most violent and dangerous illegal aliens who have been convicted and have completed their sentences."
WATCH: Idaho State Police delivers update
Critics of the program, including the American Civil Liberties Union say that the Trump administration is utilizing the 287 (g) program to turn state and local law enforcement into a "deportation machine" which runs the risk of "civil rights abuses and government waste".
In Gov. Little's press release, the initiative cited 53 transports with offenses ranging from DUIs and drug possession to kidnapping and sexual assaults. Not all of the convictions could be independently verified by Idaho News 6.
The database reports arrests from Mexico, Pakistan, Laos, and several Central American countries.
The Governor's Office created an online dashboard for the initiative that includes information on the transports that have been taken to ICE deportation facilities.
Idaho News 6 does not have information on the current location of the transports after they have been taken into federal custody.
Idaho News 6 reached out to the Governor's Office for further information, but has not heard back.
