CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Nearly a year after a massive law enforcement operation swept through a horse track in Wilder, one of the families caught up in the raid is now fighting back in court and speaking out about the lasting toll it has taken on their lives.
Juana Rodriguez was among hundreds of people detained at La Catedral on Oct. 19, 2025, when more than 200 local, state and federal officers carried out the operation.
She previously told Idaho News 6 that she was zip-tied and unable to care for her then-3-year-old son.
An active civil rights lawsuit claims Latino families were targeted during the operation and that hundreds of people, including children, were unlawfully detained.
Rodriguez is one of three families suing authorities over how the raid was carried out.
"I mean, it was very traumatic," Rodriguez said. "Till this day, I still have a hard time going out and trying to have fun, especially because, well, I had my 3-year-old with me, so it's affected him and I in both ways."
WATCH: Juana Rodriguez is one of three families suing over the Wilder raid
Her son, now 4 years old, still carries the memory of that day. The experience has changed how he feels about attending horse races.
"Right now he's like, 'No, because there's police and you're going to get arrested.'" Rodriguez said.
The fear, she said, has spread into everyday life, including simple errands like trips to the grocery store. That impact, she said, is what drove her decision to become a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
"I always said that I was going to fight for him, myself and the community," Rodriguez said.
The raid was connected to a federal gambling investigation, but the civil rights lawsuit — which names federal immigration agencies, Canyon County, the cities of Caldwell and Nampa, and law enforcement leaders — alleges the operation went far beyond its stated scope.
Federal authorities later deported dozens of those detained.
The other two plaintiff families also claim their loved ones were caught up in an operation they believe exceeded the boundaries of the original gambling investigation. The ACLU, which is representing the families, said the core of the problem lies in the warrants used to authorize the operation.
According to the organization, those warrants were tied to just five specific individuals who were under federal investigation for illegal gambling. The ACLU claims authorities used those limited warrants to detain hundreds of people who had no connection to the probe — people who, as ACLU senior counsel Jorge Castillo told me, "were just there to watch the races."
Castillo told me the families are seeking accountability and argued that law enforcement agencies must be held responsible for any wrongdoing.
"Nobody's above the law, and that's what we feel ... that we can defend against their attempt to get out of the case and to find justice for our clients," Castillo said.
In June, attorneys representing Caldwell and Nampa asked a judge to dismiss the claims against the two cities and their police chiefs. They argued that officers were assisting federal authorities in executing a search warrant and that the lawsuit fails to show the chiefs personally violated anyone's rights.
Castillo said the case speaks to a broader concern about how Latino communities are treated during law enforcement operations.
"This is a call to demand that these abuses end once and for all," Castillo said.
Rodriguez echoed that call for equal treatment.
"I think we're all human, and I think we should all be treated equal," she said.
Idaho News 6 will continue to follow the case as it moves through the courts.
For Canyon County happenings, news, and more— join our Facebook Group: 2C Neighborhood News - Nampa, Caldwell, Middleton
(REMOVE IF AI WAS NOT USED) 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.
