BY MONICA CARRILLO
Anumber of rumors on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Blaine County have increased concern amongst undocumented residents in the Wood River Valley.
However, how many of those sightings have been true?
Since President Donald Trump’s first day in office, there have been multiple executive orders on immigration, including rolling back a 2011 policy that bans federal immigration enforcement agencies from making arrests in and near churches, schools, hospitals and other safe havens and an order to end birthright citizenship, causing worry for families.
His presidency has come with rigorous enforcement of mass deportation policies, fueling rumors and social media reports of ICE activity nationwide, including in the Wood River Valley.
Luis Campos, immigration attorney at The Alliance of Idaho, said he has been an immigration lawyer for 30 years, and was a leading attorney during the first Trump administration in 2016 to 2020. He said that Trump’s second presidency has been “significantly worse,” citing the numerous “unconstitutional” executive orders issued in the past two weeks.
“We haven’t necessarily had family or children separated, but the pure volume and unconstitutionality of these executive orders is crazy,” Campos said.
Since Jan. 20, 2025, he has heard numerous rumors of ICE raids throughout the Valley, including at gas stations and grocery stores, though confirming their presence can be challenging.
“Clearly, Trump did not initiate the mere existence of ICE raids; they’ve been around for a very long time, … but now there’s a heightened sensitivity because the administration has clearly said they’re maybe engaged in mass deportation,” Campos said.
“The moment we see someone who appears to be an immigration officer at a gas station, people upload that information through social media, saying that there’s a raid taking place and it’s very hard to prove or disprove, unless you’re actually interacting with that officer.”
Because of this, he said it’s important to know your rights and be prepared in any situation. He said The Alliance of Idaho has been leading “Know Your Rights” workshops, all of which have had attendance of at least 100 people.
“In the first one that we did, we had, I think, 120 attendees, and not enough room, so people are clearly afraid,” Campos said. “People want to know ‘What can we do? What can we expect? What rights do we have?’”
Campos said one of the key things to remember is that every person in the United States is entitled to due process, which includes foreign nationals, irrespective of their immigration status.
“This means, for example, that individuals are entitled to a legal proceeding before they’re deported and that they shouldn’t be just picked up, put on a plane and sent abroad,” Campos said.
“People also have the right to document potential abuses and interactions with ICE. That includes recording by video. That’s a constitutional right … and here what we typically see is a family member or a friend recording any interactions. That puts ICE officers on greater guard in terms of ensuring that their conduct is legally correct.”
Additionally, he said individuals have a right to remain silent in any interaction with an ICE officer. He said oftentimes ICE are trained to speak in a “call-command voice,” to get the person to engage and talk, but regardless, he said it’s important to stay calm.
“Certainly you’re not going to argue or much less fight with an officer, but you do have the right to vocalize the fact that you intend to exercise your right to not speak and not answer questions,” Campos said.
Another issue that has arisen is the rollback of a 2011 policy that prohibited federal immigration enforcement agencies from making arrests in or near churches, schools, hospitals, and other designated safe havens.
Jim Foudy, superintendent of Blaine County School District, told the Wood River Weekly that their number one focus is the safety of all students and staff and people on their campuses and said that they have no information as to whether or not students are documented or undocumented.
“All students who live here are entitled to a free appropriate public education, regardless of status,” Foudy said.
He said he’s heard multiple rumors, including that there were ICE arrests outside of where the movie theater in Hailey is located. As far as he knows, Foudy said that was false information.
“I spoke with [City of Hailey Police] Chief Steve England, and he had spoken with Morgan Ballis, the sheriff for Blaine County, and assured me that they have patrol officers up and down Main Street all the time; nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything,” Foudy said. “Typically, when there is an event like that, ICE would notify local law enforcement, and they did not receive any kind of notification.”
Foudy advises families to stay notified through the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office’s website and social media for updates.
He also said he welcomes families to reach out to the school district with concerns.
Campos emphasized the importance of staying vigilant and calm as executive orders continue to roll out, amid ongoing ICE raid rumors and strict immigration policies, noting that these measures will only continue to face legal challenges.
“Most of them are on very shaky legal ground, and some are clearly unconstitutional. So it’s going to be a legal war zone,” he said.
