The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement regarding a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at a horse race event in Idaho over the weekend, which resulted in more than 100 illegal aliens being arrested.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin explained that the ICE raid had “dismantled an illegal horse-racing, animal fighting, and a gambling enterprise operation,” in Wilder, Idaho, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. McLaughlin added that 105 illegal aliens had been arrested.
McLaughlin’s statement comes as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “previously announced five arrests of people linked to the alleged horserace gambling operation in Wilder called La Catedral Arena,” according to the outlet.
Per the outlet, a spokesperson for the FBI explained that “ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division helped ‘process individuals who were found to have potential immigration violations’”:
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 led by the FBI.”
Leo Morales, who serves as the Executive Director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Idaho, criticized the Trump administration for having come “in full force, military-style” with helicopters and drones and arresting people, according to the outlet.
“No person, no Idahoan, no American should ever accept whenever a government does this to its own people,” Morales added.
The website, Animals 24-7, reported that among the people who were arrested by the FBI “for the alleged gambling offenses were property owner Ivan Tellez, 37,” who reportedly “lives and grows watermelons with his father on the La Catedral Arena premises”:
Arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] for the alleged gambling offenses were property owner Ivan Tellez, 37, who according to business listings lives and grows watermelons with his father on the La Catedral Arena premises; Samuel Berjarano, 37, and his wife Dayana Fajardo, 39, both Mexican citizens with current addresses in Nyssa, Oregon, who were the alleged bookmakers; and Alejandro Estrada, 56, of Buhl, Idaho.
A fifth suspect in the gambling case, Cesar Orozco, 45, an alleged betting courier, was arrested later in Meridian, Idaho.
The major target of the raid, however, was the presence of undocumented immigrants.
In a press release, Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) revealed that the “State of Idaho provided support in the service of a warrant issued by a federal judge” relating to the illegal activities that were taking place.
“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,” Little said. “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.”
Breitbart News reported in June that Little announced Idaho was teaming up with ICE officials to arrest “criminal illegals who have taken up residence” in the state.
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