The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Canyon County Sheriff and Caldwell and Nampa Police departments. The civil-rights organization accuses the agencies of conspiracy and conducting a “brutal” and “violent” raid at a Canyon County race track last October.
The suit, filed Tuesday at the U.S. District Court in Boise, accuses local, state and federal agencies of conspiring to use criminal warrants to target Latino and Latina individuals because of their ethnicity.
The Oct. 19 raid zeroed in on the La Catedral racetrack in Wilder. The New York Times reports that immigration lawyers say as many as 75 detainees have since been deported, adding it is nearly impossible to track many of their whereabouts.
The seven individual plaintiffs named in the federal suit are all Hispanic and U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. It includes four minors, ages three, 10, 15 and 16 years old.
The suit says the plaintiffs suffered bodily injury, emotional distress and economic loss; and asks for damages to be determined at trial.
The ACLU is giving a press conference at 3 p.m. MT. This story will be updated.
