ACLU sues law enforcement over Wilder raid

The ACLU and ACLU of Idaho filed the class action lawsuit Tuesday, challenging the raid for what they say is the Trump administration and ICE’s willingness to “disregard fundamental rights if it gets them immigration arrests.” The ACLU says in a press release about the lawsuit that this is the first “major challenge in the second Trump administration to ICE tactics that discriminate based on ethnicity.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has taken legal action against the Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials involved in an immigration raid that occurred in Wilder on October 19, 2025. The FBI orchestrated the raid at a privately owned horse racing track in Wilder under the pretense of investigating illegal gambling activities. Over 200 officers from various agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, participated in the operation, detaining over 400 individuals for an extended period, including numerous U.S. citizens.

Eyewitnesses reported aggressive tactics employed during the raid, such as the zip-tying of children and the separation of young children from their parents for an hour or more. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, overseeing Border Patrol and ICE, denied claims of children being zip-tied. Initially, FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker stated that no restraints or rubber bullets were used on children but later clarified her statement to refer to “young children” instead of all children.

The outcome of the raid was underwhelming, resulting in only a few arrests related to gambling activities, while a staggering 105 individuals were arrested on suspicion of immigration violations. Many of these individuals ended up signing voluntary departure agreements without having the opportunity to consult with immigration attorneys, as revealed by Nikki Ramirez-Smith, an immigration lawyer representing some of the affected individuals.

In response to the event, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled in late November that the continued detention of the migrants without bail violated their due process rights. Consequently, he ordered their release on bond while they await the resolution of their immigration cases.

The ACLU and ACLU of Idaho recently filed a class action lawsuit challenging the Wilder raid, citing concerns about the Trump administration and ICE potentially disregarding fundamental rights in pursuit of immigration-related arrests. The lawsuit represents a concerted effort to address what the ACLU perceives as a pattern of discrimination based on ethnicity in ICE’s enforcement tactics during the second Trump administration.