FBI raid at Idaho horse track shows how immigration is a top focus across law enforcement
This image from video provided by Nikki Ramirez-Smith shows officers from various law enforcement agencies during a raid at La Catedral Arena horse race track in Wilder, Idaho, on Oct. 19, 2025. (Nikki Ramirez-Smith via AP)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The first sign something was amiss was the thwack of helicopter rotors overhead, followed by screams. Within moments, Anabel Romero was on the ground with her hands restrained behind her, she said, as law enforcement officers brandishing guns removed her 14-year-old daughter from a nearby truck and zip-tied the teen while her young siblings looked on.
Romero and her daughter, both U.S. citizens, were among about 400 people detained for hours at a privately owned race track about an hour west of Boise as part an FBI-led investigation into illegal gambling that resulted in more than 100 arrests, nearly all for immigration violations.
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