Justice for Idaho Families

We are collecting signatures from Idahoans across the state, which we will hand-deliver to Governor Little on October 19, the official anniversary of the Wilder raid. We need all Idahoans to put pressure on Governor Little to stop the inhumane treatment of our immigrant neighbors.

Attend our Day of Action on October 18 at 2 p.m. in Ann Morrison Park: Join us for a day of action as we demand justice for our immigrant community on the one year anniversary of the horrific immigration raid at a family horse racing event in Wilder, Idaho.

Support the families: Donate to the mutual aid fund, which supports local families affected by immigration enforcement.

Check out our immigrant ally toolkit: Learn how to be an effective ally and support immigrant rights in Idaho.

Since early 2025:

• Deportations of our immigrant neighbors have skyrocketed.
• Local partnerships with ICE have more than quadrupled.
• Excessive force against our communities has become normal.
• Our constitutional rights have never been more at risk.

This level of unlimited, unchecked government power is a threat to everyone’s freedom.

That's why we're demanding justice for the cruel immigration enforcement happening across Idaho.

On October 19, 2025, approximately 200 law enforcement personnel, comprised of federal agents, state police, and local law enforcement, executed a tactical raid during a family horse racing event at the La Catedral arena in Wilder, Idaho.

The underlying legal authority for the operation was a criminal search warrant and arrest warrants for five specific individuals suspected of unlicensed gambling. However, the scope of the operation expanded to encompass the entire venue. Approximately 400 attendees, the vast majority of whom were families, children, and bystanders entirely unrelated to the gambling investigation, were detained at the scene for roughly four hours.

During the operation, tactical gear, helicopters, drones, and rubber bullets were deployed. According to witness statements and legal filings, unarmed and compliant attendees, including teenagers and parents, were zip-tied and held at gunpoint. Out of the hundreds of families detained, none were charged with drug crimes, animal fighting, or violent crime.

While agencies involved later released statements defending the operation as part of an anti-gambling enterprise, the scale of the deployment against hundreds of non-suspect bystanders has raised severe constitutional questions regarding the boundaries of law enforcement authority.

The ACLU of Idaho and partners filed a federal class-action lawsuit, Rodriguez v. Porter in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho on behalf of affected Latino families, including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who were detained.

The suit alleges that federal and state agencies conspired to use a narrow, low-level criminal warrant as a pretext to conduct an overbroad, ethnically discriminatory immigration dragnet, violating the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of innocent bystanders.

Furthermore, public records show that Governor Brad Little later defended the multi-agency operation. We believe leadership requires holding public agencies to the strict boundaries of the law, rather than defending operations that subject innocent citizens and children to unlawful detention.