BOISE, Idaho — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a putative class action lawsuit Tuesday against the federal government over a large-scale immigration raid at a horse racing event in Wilder, Idaho, alleging that hundreds of people, including U.S. citizens and children, were subjected to hours of detention in inhumane conditions.
On Feb. 10, 2026, the ACLU, in conjunction with the ACLU of Idaho and Wendy J. Olson, filed the lawsuit concerning an immigration raid carried out in Wilder. The raid, which took place in October 2025 at the La Catedral arena, was executed by “more than 200 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers” armed with guns and flashbang grenades and assisted by armored trucks and helicopters, as they violently disrupted the “popular family event,” proceeding to “[detain] approximately 400 spectators — including U.S. citizens and children — for four hours of detention in inhumane conditions,” according to an ACLU press release.
The preceding “festive and calm day” of Oct. 19, 2025, punctured by the “dragnet immigration raid,” was transformed into a scene of chaos, as ICE officials “shoved compliant people to the ground, forcibly dragged people out of their cars, shot rubber bullets, and threw flashbang grenades into cars that had people sitting inside,” as stated by the ACLU. The organization stated, “Parents and children were zip tied at gunpoint, and agents subjected people to hours of violent and degrading treatment.”…