CALDWELL, Idaho — One month after a federal raid shook the town of Wilder, some families are still struggling to recover from the aftermath.
As previously reported, an investigation into alleged gambling at the site led to five arrests and more than 100 others detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
WATCH | How one local woman helped families and the impact still felt today—
Janet Calderon, a Caldwell community member, stepped in to help neighbors searching for loved ones and says the community is still trying to heal.
"My phone was left and right messages and they're like this is going on in Wilder do you know anything you know and I said I don't I'm on the road," Calderon said.
Calderon says she never imagined a raid happening in her hometown. She learned ICE was detaining families — even U.S. citizens — while on the road with her son's band, Nueva Generación 2000.
"I was shocked. I'm like, wait a minute, what is going on? And then I started looking into the social media news," Calderon said.
Feeling helpless, she looked for ways to step in.
"It was very heartbreaking," Calderon said.
Working with the migrant program in local school districts, she started getting calls the next day from families who didn't know where to begin searching for loved ones.
"If I knew location, names, what was the next step, if the kids were safe to go to school," Calderon said.
Using her contacts, she reached out to lawyers, detention centers — even spoke with detainees as they arrived at El Consulado de México — hearing firsthand what they endured.
"It was really hard just because there was so much procedures. That they thought it was different. And they were traveling during the night, hardly any food, hardly any drinks. By the time they got there, at one point, they said, we didn't know if we're gonna make it alive," Calderon said.
Calderon says the community hasn't moved on. Families in Canyon County are bracing for another impact — many staying inside — something she's seen firsthand as the manager of her son's band.
"Business-wise, it has done so much damage within a community. A lot of our community are in fear, so they don't wanna go out. It doesn't matter if it's an informational event, if it's a music event, I mean, it doesn't matter. Our community is in fear," Calderon said.
Calderon tells me she still keeps in touch with those she's helped, hoping one day families are reunited.
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