Idaho Gov. Little wants to deport ‘dangerous criminals.’ What does that really mean?

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Idaho Gov. Brad Little, along with 25 other Republican governors, released a joint statement Wednesday that said they are fully committed to President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to “deport dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists.”

But deporting criminals has long been an immigration enforcement priority, under both Democratic and Republican presidents. And it’s not just undocumented immigrants who can be deported, according to the Immigration and Nationality Act. People who are legally in the United States can be removed for certain crimes.

“It’s not a big policy shift,” said Lisa Meierotto, an associate professor whose research includes migration in the School of Public Service at Boise State University. “The language here is vague.”

The statement doesn’t say anything explicit about other parts of Trump’s plans, such as mass deportations. But it’s unclear in the statement what crimes the governors are referring to, and whether the crimes refer broadly to crossing the border, Meierotto said.

The governors said they support “deporting illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security,” and “understand the direct threat these criminal illegal immigrants pose.”

“When you say ‘pose a threat,’ there’s a lot of room in that for interpretation,” Meierotto said. “When they talk about criminals, we don’t know if that’s referring to all undocumented people.”

Little’s spokesperson Joan Varsek didn’t clarify the crimes for which he would support deportation, and didn’t address specific questions about his immigration priorities. She said Little looked forward to working with Trump “to support his efforts in addressing the illegal immigration crisis.”

Little has sent state troopers to the U.S.-Mexico border four times in the past three years, according to previous Statesman reporting. The governor also made a trip to the border earlier this year.

“While the Biden administration failed to secure the southern border and protect the American people, Gov. Little has made public safety for Idahoans a top priority,” Varsek wrote in an email.

It’s not always easy to draw a straight line from political party to deportations. Former Democratic President Barack Obama deported hundreds of thousands more immigrants during his time in office than Trump did in his first term, according to The New York Times.

And some politicians have drawn a line between those who commit crimes in the United States and those whose only crime was crossing the border. And crossing the border in itself is not a crime for those seeking asylum. Immigrants are legally allowed to seek asylum and must be at a port of entry or in the United States to do so, according to the International Rescue Committee. Biden has recently limited access to seek asylum.

In 2006, then-President George W. Bush called it “neither wise nor realistic” to round up and deport millions of immigrants, though he made border security a priority. There are differences between a recent immigrant and someone who has roots in the United States and a clean record, Bush said in a speech on immigration reform.

“People who have worked hard, supported their families, avoided crime, led responsible lives, and become a part of American life should be called in out of the shadows and under the rule of American law,” Bush said.

In 1985, then-U.S. Sen. Steven D. Symms, R-Idaho, supported a proposal to make it easier for undocumented people to work while applying for legal status, according to a New York Times article. U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, has also been a supporter of a proposal to overhaul H-2A visas to make the path to legal status easier for farmworkers.

Under President Joe Biden, border crossings hit record numbers, according to the Washington Post. His deportations were on track to match Trump’s as of this summer, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Overall, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement deported 142,000 people in fiscal year 2023, just under half of whom had criminal histories, according to ICE’s annual report. That same year, around 3,400 known or suspected gang members were deported, along with 139 known or suspected terrorists, according to the report.

Ultimately, there’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to immigration during Trump’s upcoming second term.

“We don’t know to what extent all those promises will be enacted,” Meierotto said.