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ACLU holds press conference as families protest, search for missing relatives after FBI operation in Wilder

Protesters gather outside Canyon County building demanding answers about detained family members after an FBI operation in Wilder at a horse racetrack
Poder and Aclu Protest
Poder and Aclu Protest
Poder and Aclu Protest
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CALDWELL, Idaho — Several neighbors say they haven't heard from their family members since Sunday's FBI operation in Wilder. While some children have been released, families say many parents are still missing.

Click here to see more on the protest and what family members have to say:

Wilder Families Protest Missing Relatives After FBI Operation

A protest marked by questions and concerns — but few answers — drew locals who gathered peacefully outside the Canyon County Administration Building on Monday.

"I want to show support for people that can't be here, people that have had family members detained out of fear can't be here. I just want to be able to support my community in that way," Jessie Sandoval said.

Hear from ACLU leaders about the raids:

ACLU holds press conference following massive raid in Wilder

"An abuse of power. They're doing their job, why are they coming at people so aggressively? Why are they zip tying kids and being physical with people? I don't want that in my community," Sandoval said.

Many gathered holding signs to show support to those detained, while others voiced opposition to ICE. Kimra Luna said she was there when families were separated and neighbors anxiously asked about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

"Everybody didn't know, like, oh, are they being taken away? Are they going to release people? It was just utter chaos. And then several people were there saying that they had children in there and they said, 'Where are our kids at? Why are kids being detained?'" Luna said.

Poder and Aclu Protest

Luna said that while they were walking onto the property trying to locate their loved ones, they were confronted by aggressive law enforcement officers who began firing rubber bullets at them.

"They began shooting rubber bullets at us. I've been to probably hundreds of protests in Idaho. I've never ever experienced rubber bullets being shot at me in this state, so that was very surprising," Luna said.

Luna said she saw a family getting reunited — a teenage girl and her two younger siblings, between 4 and 6 years old.

"I interviewed the little girl and she told me that all of these soldiers came in and she was shaking and very scared and she just started crying. They separated her from her mother," Luna said.

The teenage girl said she was sitting in her truck when a police officer approached her and told her to get out of the car.

"She was like, 'Why do I got to get out of the car? I don't have to do that. I'm a minor, leave me alone.' And then he pointed a gun at her, so then she got out of the car to comply because he pointed a gun at her," Luna said.

Luna said the teenager witnessed an officer beating her mother on the ground, kicking her mother and pointing a gun at her mother's head while telling the mother they were going to blow her head off.

Caldwell police arrived at Monday's protest shortly after counterprotesters arrived. But Poder of Idaho said police didn't have to have such a large response on Sunday.

Poder and Aclu Protest

"Just to clarify, if they wanted to get those that they were aiming for, they could have arrested them any time," Estefania Mondragon said. "They didn't have to do a community sweep like they did and take kids. We saw reports of kids being zip tied. We're getting pictures of that and we're getting pictures of a lot of different things. A mother of a child reached out saying that there was a gun held to her child's head. It seems to be getting worse with every single story."

Mondragon is the executive director of Poder of Idaho.

"Right now it's just battling through the confusion and the initial shock, and then now it's making our voices heard today here like we did here in the park with the protest as well as the press conference that was organized by another group," Mondragon said.

"And for us, what's next is helping our community members. We're organizing diaper drives, clothes drives for the families that are affected, food drives as well out in Nampa to help the families that have been affected by these raids," Mondragon said.

Many of the protesters and nonprofit groups say they will continue working to locate their family members and plan to protest again at the State Capitol on November 2.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.