UPDATE (Oct. 21): The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed it arrested 105 undocumented people in an ICE raid on Sunday in Wilder. The FBI initially reported it was serving a warrant in an investigation into illegal gambling at La Catedral Arena horse track.
Four people were arrested at the track in connection with the investigation, a fifth was taken into custody later that evening in Meridian.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as around 200 agents from multiple federal and local agencies detained hundreds, including children separated from parents taken into custody.
In an email exchange, a spokesperson for DHS would not say where arrested individuals were sent, what type of force was used during the event or if and how agents had restrained minors, other than to say zip ties were not used on children.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little also weighed in on the operation. In an email, his office confirmed about 400 people were in attendance at the Sunday event.
“The State of Idaho provided support in the service of a warrant issued by a federal judge in connection with the illegal activities taking place in Wilder,” Governor Little said in a written message on Tuesday.
“When serving a search warrant, it is common practice for law enforcement to detain others present while processing the scene to ensure the safety of both the civilians and officers present and to preserve evidence,” the statement read.
In a written statement, the Idaho Democratic party called the operation “inhumane.”
“The Trump regime's reckless approach to immigration closes legal pathways and punishes law-abiding people, tearing families apart for no purpose other than fear and control. Idaho’s Republican leaders are now enabling that same moral failure. If the government can treat families like this in Wilder, what stops them from doing it anywhere else? Governor Little owes Idahoans an explanation and must end his cooperation with these cruel tactics," Party Chair Lauren Necochea wrote.
ORIGINAL STORY (Oct. 20): On Monday, about 100 people gathered in front of the Canyon County Administration building in Caldwell to protest an ICE raid in Wilder. The FBI was scheduled to hold a press conference but it was abruptly cancelled shortly beforehand.
"Due to the fact that the affidavit in support of the federal criminal complaint related to yesterday's law enforcement activity in Wilder was not sealed and is available to the public," wrote Sandra Yi Barker, the public affairs officer out of the FBI Salt Lake City office, in an email. "There is no new information we are able to provide at this time."
Questions remain about the law enforcement intervention in Southwest Idaho on Sunday night, which included ICE agents. Activists and community members gathered in Caldwell Monday to press for answers.
Four men were arrested and indicted on illegal gambling charges on Sunday following a raid at a horse track family event in Wilder, according to an affidavit released by the FBI.
But 200 law enforcement agents, including ICE, assisted in the operation. Witnesses report dozens of individuals were detained, including children.
Ruby Mendoza, from the immigration activist group PODER, described a chaotic scene.
“Ice agents, police, FBI, DEA stormed into the space with force and intimidation,” she said. “And in that moment, families were torn apart. I saw the confusion in people's faces. The panic, the heartbreak. Loved ones detained without warning, without explanation.”
ACLU of Idaho Director Leo Morales also condemned the operation.
“The government came in full force, military style helicopters, drones and arrested and handcuffed everyone again, including children. No person, no Idahoan, no American should ever accept whenever a government does this to its own people,” he said.
Lawyer Nikki Ramirez Smith arrived at the raid on Sunday as arrests were being made.
“It appears that everyone that was there was detained, U.S. citizen or not. Eventually it was over an hour that we were there, we could not get answers on what happened to the children and where the children were,” said Ramirez Smith.
The ACLU reported all children were released, but many did not know where their parents were transported.
