ICE arrests 105 people in southwest Idaho raid, U.S. Department of Homeland Security says

Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun

October 21, 2025 / 3:03 pm

caption: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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.

“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 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.

“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.”

This story was originally published by the Idaho Capital Sun.