CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — A Wilder woman says she was unable to care for her 3-year-old son as she was zip-tied during Sunday's federal raid in Wilder.
During the law enforcement operation, agents took her father into ICE custody. He was just one of 105 people detained by ICE.
Juana Rodriguez attended the event at La Catedral Arena with her father and young son, unaware that alleged gambling was taking place at the venue.
"A lot of people would have been smart and would've known that, you know— not to go or not to be there, but it was a family event," Rodriguez said.
Before agents restrained her with zip-ties, Rodriguez told her father to stay close to her and her son. Once her hands were bound, she says she couldn't tend to her child's basic needs.
"I told my dad I was like, please stay with me, don't go anywhere— just stay with me and, and the baby," Rodriguez said.
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She noticed other parents with young children who weren't restrained and asked agents for help.
"I did see a couple of people that had younger kids like mine that were, uh, not zip-tied, so I asked one of the agents, and I was like, 'Can you just please untie me? My son needs me right now," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez watched helplessly as her son cried for food and water while she remained restrained.
"He kept asking me, 'Mom, I'm hungry, Mom, I'm hungry, Mom, I'm thirsty,' and I wasn't able to do anything," Rodriguez said.
WATCH TO SEE: HOW A WILDER MOTHER SAYS SHE WAS ZIP-TIED AND UNABLE TO CARE FOR HER 3-YEAR-OLD SON:
After processing, her father was taken into ICE custody. Rodriguez says the most difficult part was that her son witnessed everything.
"My dad was doing his process, and unfortunately, he wasn't able to make it out, so they ended up taking him. It's just— it's so hard. The thing that breaks me more is that my son [had] to be there and he had to witness everything," Rodriguez explained.
Rodriguez says her son and father share a close bond. Now, she struggles to explain her father's absence to the 3-year-old.
"Now he will see a cop car or any type of person with the suit, and if he knows he has weapons or anything, he will be like 'the police, the police, [where's] grandpa,'" Rodriguez added.
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The raid fractured multiple families other than hers, affecting employment and daily routines, Rodriguez said.
"You're affecting a lot of jobs; there are people that, you know, couldn't return back to work, and my dad was one of them," Rodriguez said.
The experience has left lasting emotional scars on both Rodriguez and her son.
"I might say it's just a 3-year-old, but I know it's hitting him because every day he'll ask me and he'll be like, 'Where's my grandpa?'" Rodriguez said. "He saw how we were separated from my father, his grandpa, and it's just something that is going to haunt us for the rest of our lives."
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