Dozens of protesters rally in Boise, decry ICE's tactics during immigration raids

Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman on Nov 2, 2025

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Dozens rallied at Boise City Hall on Sunday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement just two weeks after the agency raided a horse racing event about 40 miles away in Wilder, where hundreds of people, including children, were rounded up, zip-tied and questioned about their immigration status.

Ulises Quintana, of Caldwell, was at the La Catedral Arena, a local horse racetrack popular among the Spanish-speaking community west of Boise, when chaos unfolded on Oct. 19 as hundreds of law enforcement officers descended upon the final horse race of the season.

Five gambling suspects were arrested and over 100 people were detained by ICE, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Quintana told the Statesman at Sunday’s rally in front of City Hall that the raid created fear among the Hispanic community in the Treasure Valley. He said he felt it was his responsibility, as a natural-born citizen, to speak up for those who can’t.

“My parents came illegally to this country, and after I joined the military, that’s when they were able to get their green cards,” Quintana said. “I’m a natural-born citizen, but there’s a lot of people who want to speak out for their parents, friends and neighbors. Those of us who have the privilege to do so, it’s our responsibility.”

Jackee Winters, of Boise, expressed dismay at reports of ICE officials separating families and zip-tying children at the Wilder raid.

She told the Statesman she’s been following news of immigration raids across the country and has been disturbed by numerous accounts of ICE agents treating undocumented immigrants and citizens alike with excessive force.

“I don’t understand the violence,” Winters said. “I know that we can do better than that. I also didn’t realize they had zip-tied children. That broke my heart when I found out. I literally cried. It’s so sad to think about how much trauma these little children are going to endure. I don’t get why they treat people so poorly, even if they’re illegal or not. It’s a human rights issue.”

Bob Bolyard, of Garden City, wore an orange shirt that said “due process for all.” He noted that many businesses in Idaho, especially in the agriculture industry, depend heavily on migrant labor.

“They work hard, they pay taxes and very few commit crimes,” Bolyard told the Statesman. “ I think ICE is an abomination. This country was built on immigrants.”

Idaho had about 35,000 undocumented immigrants in 2024, the Statesman reported. More than 80% are from Mexico and Central America. A third of them work in agriculture, and most pay Social Security taxes but aren’t eligible for its benefits.

ShyLynn Allen, a Native American and member of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, told the Statesman she fears being picked up off the streets by ICE just because of her skin color. She now makes sure to carry her tribal identification card with her wherever she goes, just in case. She worries her children, whose father is Hispanic, could be racially profiled, too.

Her oldest son is 13-years-old, but she said he’s tall for his age and could pass for a 19-year-old.

“I’m more worried for my kids — they look Hispanic,” Allen said. “Even coming here, I’m sure a lot of brown people didn’t come because they’re probably scared ICE is going to do a raid.”

In September, the Supreme Court temporarily lifted a lower court’s injunction that had prohibited ICE agents from using race or ethnicity as a factor in immigration stops in the Los Angeles area. The ruling allows ICE to use racial profiling, which the American Civil Liberties Union says is discriminatory and unconstitutional, in deciding who to stop and question, while the underlying case proceeds through the lower courts.

Over a dozen agitators showed up to disrupt Sunday’s rally along Capitol Boulevard. One counter-protester moved through the crowd and spoke through a bullhorn.

Several others showed up heavily armed, including Ben Fitzpatrick, of Eagle, who wore a black MAGA hat and carried a semi-automatic rifle slung across his shoulder. He recorded the event as it unfolded from a camera strapped to his vest. He said he came with his father, Mark Fitzpatrick, who owns the Old State Saloon in Eagle, which notoriously hosted Idaho’s “Hetero Awesome Fest” during Pride month in June.

Ben Fitzpatrick told the Statesman that he saw a post about the anti-ICE rally on social media.

“I support ICE and I just wanted to show up and support anyone else who’s in support of ICE and make sure that they’re safe,” Ben Fitzpatrick said. “Idaho’s a Second Amendment state and I just like showing our Second Amendment right, just like these guys have the right to protest. Everyone’s exercising rights and I love it.”

Juno Murphy, of Boise, said the raid in Wilder brought the intensifying ICE immigration enforcement efforts closer to home.

“I heard they were saying there’s ICE agents in Meridian, too,” Murphy said. “Knowing that it’s basically right at the footstep of Boise makes it a little bit more real than seeing the clips of the debates and the videos of LA.”