WILDER, Idaho — Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue and Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram said Wednesday that the recent federal operation in Wilder was not led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a joint statement, Donahue and Ingram said they usually refrain from commenting on active federal investigations but felt compelled to “address the confusion caused by recent public statements” from ICE and DHS.
“To be clear, this was not an ICE-led enforcement action,” the statement said. “The statement released by DHS yesterday claiming responsibility for dismantling a criminal organization was completely false and a serious misrepresentation of the facts.”
According to the two officials, the operation was led by the FBI’s Metro Violent Crime and Gang Task Force, with assistance from multiple agencies. ICE officers were present only to identify and process individuals in the country illegally, they said.
The agencies said more information will be released by the FBI as the case progresses and directed further inquiries to the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office.
