Groups question immigration raid in central Idaho
Groups question immigration raid in central Idaho
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BOISE, Idaho - The Idaho Community Action Network has denounced early morning raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in central Idaho that resulted in about 21 arrests.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho said it is investigating to see if anyone's civil rights were violated.
The pre-dawn raids in Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue on Sept. 15 were carried out by federal agents with the help of the Blaine County sheriff's office, said sheriff's Detective Steve Harkins.
He said the raids were meant to find undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions, previous deportations, or people who had been asked to leave the country but remained.
During the raids, Harkins said, federal agents also detained people who were not able to prove they were U.S. citizens or legal residents.
He said those who were detained in the raids were being held in the Ada and Canyon county jails.
"It is clear that ICE agents terrorized the community, including U.S. citizen children who were sleeping when the raid occurred," said Leo Morales, a community organizer for ICAN, at a meeting Tuesday in Hailey. "In several homes, children were left crying as ICE agents interrogated parents and hauled them away."
Some people whose homes were raided said they were unsure what was happening.
"They pounded on my door so hard that my walls shook," said Dana Ayala. "My 19-year-old son opened the door to see what was happening, and six agents armed with guns, Tasers and flashlights pushed their way into my home."
Ayala said she and her children are U.S. citizens, and that her husband, a native of Mexico, has legal residency in the United States.
She said agents told her they were looking for a sexual predator with a Hispanic surname, a person she had never heard of before.
"I've not heard that anybody had a warrant," said Jack Van Valkenburgh, executive director of ACLU of Idaho. "I'm trying to get the word out. You don't need to let (the agents) in if they don't have a warrant. I don't think that a lot of people understand their rights."
Karl Rusok, an ICE spokesman based in Dallas, said information was collected before the operation was carried out in central Idaho.
"This was a targeted operation," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "All of our operations are targeted to go after specific individuals. During the course of the operation we may also encounter and arrest others we determine to be in the country illegally."
He did not immediately call back with information on what prompted the operation in central Idaho, or the specific number of people arrested.
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
