Interfaith community holds vigil for immigrant families, Wilder raid

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — More than 50 people gathered in the rain under umbrellas Saturday for a vigil condemning the actions taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a Wilder community horse track on Oct. 19.

The vigil was held by the Interfaith Coalition of the Treasure Valley, at the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial.

Community religious leaders led prayers at the vigil, calling for a “moral protest” over the recent multi-agency law enforcement raid.

RELATED | FBI raids Wilder property in horse betting investigation. Is ICE involved?

In a statement, the faith leaders said the raid was “a breach of trust, a violation of rights, and a wound to the moral fabric of our community.”

The raid, an FBI-led investigation into a horse race betting operation, resulted in the arrests of five people by the agency. But over 100 people were taken into ICE custody.

According to previous Idaho Statesman reporting, many people were zip-tied, including those under 18, and rubber bullets were shot into a crowd during the raid.

Between the sermons and songs calling for people to resist oppression and treat others with dignity, activists spoke about ways to donate and rally around the immigrant community.

ACLU of Idaho executive director Leo Morales told the crowd that the immigrant community has been “terrorized” by the government in “full force.”

“When the government wants to disappear someone, they have the power to do so, and right now they’re using the tremendous amount of resources that they have to target a particular community, and that is wrong,” Morales said.

Law enforcement, including ICE and the FBI, detained and questioned hundreds at a horse racing event in Wilder, Idaho, focusing on attendees’ immigration status.

The ACLU of Idaho is starting a campaign to hold government and law enforcement officials accountable for allowing the raid, Morales said, including Gov. Brad Little.

Morales accused the governor of turning his back on Idaho’s immigrant community for years.

“We need true leadership to finally fix this broken system so that every person in this country, whether they are immigrants or not, is treated like a human being,” Morales said.

Ulises Quintana, who spoke for the Defend Immigrant Families Coalition, said that community members have continued to show up and rally against the actions taken that day.

He pointed to a protest held in Caldwell after the FBI canceled a news conference the day after the raid.

“When they came to our community to divide and scare us, we have continued to stand up for ourselves and for our neighbors,” Quintana said.

Quintana told the Statesman that one of the coalition’s primary goals is to educate immigrants on their rights when interacting with ICE agents.

Quintana also said he wants the Wilder families affected by the raid to know they are not alone.

“It’s important for those families to understand that it’s not them depending on themselves to make it through this time, but they have all of Idaho watching.”