ICE says it detained over 100 immigrants in Idaho raid. What we know
Federal agents arrested 105 undocumented immigrants in the raid at a racetrack Sunday in rural Wilder, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.
Over the weekend, hundreds of law enforcement agents descended on the racetrack as part of what the FBI said was an investigation into illegal gambling. During the operation, some children were zip-tied, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. An estimated 500 to 1,000 people were attending the race that day, according to Nikki Ramirez-Smith, a Nampa-based immigration lawyer.
The agents arrested four people that day in connection with the gambling and, on Monday, arrested a fifth. Several are due in court Tuesday afternoon.
The track owner had a conditional use permit to run horse races, but the FBI said he did not have a license to conduct parimutuel betting, which is where bets are pooled and people can bet on results other than the winner.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement credit for the operation, saying immigration agents “dismantled an illegal horse-racing, animal fighting, and a gambling enterprise operation.”
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are dismantling criminal networks in the United States,” McLaughlin told the Idaho Statesman by email.
Kristi Noem is the secretary of homeland security.
FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker previously told the Statesman by email that ICE’s presence was “separate from the criminal gambling investigation being led by the FBI.”
“ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division was present as part of the broader federal team to process individuals who were found to have potential immigration violations during the course of the investigation,” Barker said. “Their presence was limited to that specific federal responsibility.”
None of the criminal complaints mentioned the animal fighting that McLaughlin cited. When asked about this, an ICE spokesperson told the Statesman to ask the FBI when the indictment would be unsealed.
Lawyers and advocates have criticized the raid and the tactics, saying that people were not allowed to speak with an attorney, that children and U.S. citizens were detained and restrained, and that law enforcement targeted Latino Idahoans.
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