WILDER (Idaho Capital Sun) -- In a raid Sunday in southwest Idaho, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 105 people.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation previously announced five arrests of people linked to the alleged illegal horserace gambling operation in Wilder called La Catedral Arena. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday confirmed ICE's arrest count.
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"Over the weekend, ICE dismantled an illegal horse-racing, animal fighting, and a gambling enterprise operation ...," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement. "As part of the operation ICE law enforcement officers arrested 105 illegal aliens. Under President Trump and (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem, we are dismantling criminal networks in the United States."
FBI spokesperson Sandra Yi Barker previously said ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division helped "process individuals who were found to have potential immigration violations during the course of the investigation. Their presence was limited to that specific federal responsibility and was separate from the criminal gambling investigation being led by the FBI."
Advocates who were at the scene of the raid have denounced aggressive tactics they say they saw used, including law enforcement detaining everyone at the venue, children being zip-tied, and people being struck with rubber bullets.
"The government came in full force, military-style, helicopters, drones and arrested and handcuffed, everyone ... including children," ACLU of Idaho Executive Director Leo Morales told reporters at a news conference Monday. "No person, no Idahoan, no American should ever accept whenever a government does this to its own people."
The FBI canceled a press conference scheduled Monday, saying law enforcement officials didn't have more information to share publicly beyond a criminal complaint filed in federal court. The document details the investigation, but does not specify law enforcement's tactics during the raid.
In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, the Idaho governor's office said about 400 people were in attendance on Sunday and that none of the 105 people in ICE custody are children.
"Illegal gambling operations involving animals often accompany drug trafficking, animal abuse, illegal weapons trafficking, and large sums of money that end up in the hands of cartel bosses. 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," Idaho Gov. Brad Little said in the release.
The FBI led a "monthslong investigation in coordination with the Treasure Valley Metro Violence Crime and Gang Task Force and served a warrant, issued by a federal judge, at the Canyon County facility," according to the governor's office. "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."
However, Idaho Democratic Party Chairwoman Lauren Necochea said the FBI raid in Wilder was "government overreach at its worst."
"The vast majority of those detained had nothing to do with the alleged crime," Necochea said in an emailed statement. "It was inhumane, unnecessary, and dangerous."
Necochea noted that when Little announced a working agreement between ICE and the state in June, he said enforcement would focus on criminals.
"Instead, innocent families, including U.S. citizens and children, were targeted and traumatized," she said in the statement. "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."
Idaho Capital Sun editor Christina Lords contributed to this story.