Raid at Racetrack Shakes Small Idaho Town

Federal agents swarmed the La Catedral racetrack outside Wilder, Idaho, on Oct. 19, with weapons drawn, a low-flying helicopter and unmarked S.U.V.s arriving on dirt roads. Several hundred people were detained for hours; local immigration lawyers say 75 people rounded up that day have since been deported.

The raid rattled Wilder, a town of 1,725 about 10 miles from the Oregon-Idaho border. Residents said the action broke the town's sense of comity between white farmers and a growing Hispanic population, and undermined the belief that deep-red politics and remoteness could shield the community from nationwide immigration sweeps.

The F.B.I. led the operation, using automatic rifles and flash-bang grenades to arrest the track owner, and other federal agencies, including ICE, arrived soon after. Witnesses described people running into fields or hiding in cars, then being herded to the end of the track; many adults and teenagers had their hands bound, and some accounts said young people were zip-tied.

United States, Wilder, Idaho

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