After a jarring ICE raid at a horse racing track, residents of a tiny Idaho town measure the aftermath

Agents outside La Catedral Arena, a horse track in Wilder, Idaho, 
Oct. 19, 2025. (Idaho Statesman photo via Mother Jones)

Some residents of Wilder, Idaho, say the town hasn't been the same since federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on an off-the-beaten-path horse racing track and detained roughly 100 Latinos who were working or attending the races. 

The horse track, known as La Catedral Arena, had been a place where immigrant families gathered to enjoy food and racing together, reports Anna Griffin of The New York Times. Few whites ever attended the races or questioned track activities.

Wilder is located in Canyon
County, Idaho. (Wikipedia)

Sixty percent of Wilder's 1,725 residents are Latino, and most residents take pride in living in harmony. But on Oct. 19, things changed. ICE agents, including a swarm of gun-toting agents on the ground, a helicopter, and the agency's signature SUVs, descended on the track during the busiest time of day. Agents rounded up nearly 100 Latinos and later deported 75.

The raid did more than "crack an alleged gambling ring and increase deportation numbers," the Times reports. "It shattered Wilder’s innocent belief that its out-of-the-way location and deep-red politics could isolate the town from raids." 

Wilder resident Chris Gross, who farms sweet corn seed and mint, expressed concern about how the raid might limit immigrant farm workers. She told Griffin, "We rely on Hispanic labor." 

"The raid 'nearly destroyed' the community, said David Lincoln, a longtime Wilder resident and executive director of a nonprofit economic development agency serving rural towns in western Idaho," Griffen writes. Griffin adds, "Wilder won’t really know the impact until planting season begins this spring."

The day after the raid, at least half of Wilder's students didn't show up for class. Griffin reports, "Gross, who is white, said anyone who sees a black SUV roll through town, regardless of their race, 'freezes up.'" 

Still, the town's mayor, Steve Rhodes, claims the raid "has had 'zero effect' on the town," He told the Times, "These were not our people. What happened out at that track had nothing to do with Wilder.”