The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that about 400 people, including U.S. citizens and children, were detained for hours and subjected to force during an immigration raid in October at an Idaho racetrack. Federal officials, however, are disputing key parts of those claims.
The 64-page complaint targets federal, state, and local agencies involved in the October 19 operation at La Catedral racetrack in Wilder, Idaho.
According to the lawsuit, more than 200 officers in armored vehicles and helicopters entered the venue with guns drawn, using flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets. The suit alleges that “parents and children were zip tied at gunpoint” and that detainees were held for roughly four hours without food, water, or bathroom access.
The filing says officers pushed people to the ground, dragged them from vehicles, and sorted attendees into groups based on “perceived immigration status.” Detainees were allegedly held in a tent and questioned about their status, and “no one was set free unless and until they verified lawful presence in the United States.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to NBC News that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “lawfully arrested more than 105 illegal aliens” during an operation targeting illegal gambling and animal fighting while DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the outler that “ICE didn’t zip tie, restrain, or arrest any children,” and called the lawsuit an attempt to obstruct immigration enforcement.
Accounts collected earlier by The Associated Press after the raid described witnesses saying children were zip-tied and some families were separated. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied at the time that children were zip-tied while an FBI spokesperson initially said no restraints or rubber bullets were used on children but later amended that statement, replacing “children” with “young children.” The FBI has since declined comment due to pending litigation.
Both the lawsuit and prior reporting say the raid produced only a small number of gambling-related arrests, while 105 people were detained on suspected immigration violations.
In November, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered the release of 16 detainees, ruling that holding them without bond violated due process. He wrote that noncitizens already present in the country are entitled to constitutional protections while their immigration cases proceed.
Originally published on Latin Times
