Over the weekend, multiple law enforcement agencies conducted a raid on a property in Wilder. The FBI arrested five individuals in connection with an alleged illegal gambling operation, while ICE arrested another 105 illegal aliens.
How did local news media report on the story?
Read through corporate coverage of this event and you might notice a familiar slant. Even initial reports in the hours following the raid framed the story in the same way, but the narrative was set following protests and statements from left-wing groups. Conservatives have complained about media bias for decades, and this case offers a perfect example of why. Since President Trump began enforcing immigration law more aggressively after taking office last January, corporate media have assumed the premise that ICE raids are illegitimate, that enforcing the law is wrong, and that groups like the ACLU and PODER are the good guys.
This narrative is even stranger when you remember that Idaho is a red state. The positions of the ACLU, PODER of Idaho, and the newsrooms of our biggest outlets are all far to the left of most Idahoans. Recall that PODER explicitly supports violating immigration law and uses the communist fist in its logo. The group’s name stands for “Protecting Our Dreams and Empowering Resilience,” but the Spanish word poder also means “can” or “to be able to.” Barack Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes we can!” was itself an adaptation of César Chávez’s original “Sí, se puede”—“Yes, you can!”
The implication, as I see it, is “yes we can fight back against those racist Americans who believe in the rule of law!” This is who corporate news media sees as a legitimate actor in the debate over enforcing immigration law.
The moment news of the Wilder raid broke, legacy media began crafting a narrative that ICE agents had targeted a “family picnic” and detained children. Readers who rely solely on local mainstream outlets were left believing that the Trump administration was employing Nazi or fascist tactics against innocent families—which, of course, was the intent.
Gov. Brad Little released a statement yesterday regarding the raid:
Governor Brad Little commented today on the arrests made Sunday at an illegal horse racing, animal fighting, and gambling enterprise operation in Wilder. It was the final event of the year at the illegal gambling business, and approximately 400 people were in attendance.
“Illegal gambling operations involving animals often accompany drug trafficking, animal abuse, illegal weapons trafficking, and large sums of money that end up in the hands of cartel bosses. The State of Idaho provided support in the service of a warrant issued by a federal judge in connection with the illegal activities taking place in Wilder,” Governor Little said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led a monthslong investigation in coordination with the Treasure Valley Metro Violence Crime and Gang Task Force and served a warrant, issued by a federal judge, at the Canyon County facility. The operation resulted in five individuals being charged in the federal complaints.
When serving a search warrant, it is common practice for law enforcement to detain others present while processing the scene to ensure the safety of both the civilians and officers present and to preserve evidence.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced today that 105 people who attended the event are in its custody, none of which are children.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terri Pickens shared the Chronicle’s publication of the governor’s statement on Facebook, giving us a glimpse into the narrative machine:
The governor’s statement actually celebrates the mass detention of innocent people — including children — as some kind of victory for justice, all because five individuals were allegedly gambling.
That’s not justice. It’s despicable. Governor Little, you owe Idahoans an explanation for why taxpayer dollars were used to terrorize, humiliate, and handcuff families at a community gathering.
I appreciate the views, Ms. Pickens, but perhaps make it less obvious that you’re using ChatGPT to write your posts.
Some other comments from Idaho Democrats:
Brad Little’s legacy is one of hate and bigotry. He has allowed Idaho to morph into a place more akin to 1950s southern states than a laboratory of democracy.
Little is a MAGA sychophant now. Nothing more, nothing less.
We need to vote Brad out!
Little HAS GONE TO THE DARK SIDE...he doesnt care about Idahoans anymore....he is a Nazi bootlicker.
As an aside, isn’t it interesting that Gov. Little—criticized by right-wing conservatives as too liberal—is simultaneously condemned by Democrats as an ultra-right MAGA sycophant? It’s a reminder that no amount of appeasement will ever convince the left that there’s a difference between a far-right conservative and a moderate Republican. To them, we’re all “Nazis” so don’t bother trying to win their approval.
Sen. Brian Lenney reached out to ICE for comment on the raid and posted their response on Twitter:
On Sunday, October 19, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assisted the FBI in an operation targeting a criminal enterprise operating out of La Cathedral Arena. The operation focused on illegal horse racing and gambling activities, which were discovered to be linked to broader criminal activity.
The coordinated effort, which involved approximately 200 law enforcement personnel from federal, state, and local agencies, resulted in the encounter, identification and arrest of 105 individuals who were illegally present in the United States. ICE ERO officers addressed immigration violations uncovered during the enforcement action, while HSI agents provided additional investigative support.
It is important to note that ICE was part of the second portion of the operation and entered the property only after the scene was secured by the FBI and local law enforcement personnel. Of the 105 individuals arrested by ICE, all were adults, and no children were among those taken into custody.
The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime and Gang Task Force, which brought together multiple agencies, including the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Idaho State Police, Idaho Department of Corrections, and several local police departments.
In addition to the immigration arrests, four individuals were charged in federal complaints filed in U.S. District Court for their alleged roles in the illegal gambling operation. There are also several cases being presented to the U.S. Attorney’s office for Title 8 USC violations.
There are two competing narratives regarding the enforcement of immigration law:
The corporate media narrative holds that human beings cannot be “illegal” by definition and that borders and immigration laws are inherently unjust. Illegal aliens, in this view, are simply hardworking people seeking a better life, and their willingness to travel so far and endure such hardship proves their virtue. President Trump and ICE are portrayed as Nazi-level villains who hate immigrants for the color of their skin and conduct immoral operations that separate families and terrorize children.
The other narrative, which I believe to be true, is that millions of people are in our country illegally—whether by overstaying visas or crossing the southern border. This influx drives up housing and medical costs while depressing wages and taking jobs from American citizens. It provides businesses with a de facto slave class of workers who lack recourse against exploitation because they can be deported with a single phone call. Children in this system are trafficked—for labor or worse—and the entire structure enriches drug cartels while victimizing those it claims to help.
Those who push the first narrative understand that those of us who believe the second are compassionate, and they exploit that compassion to drive political change. Contrary to their caricature of conservatives as heartless or racist, they know we don’t like seeing children in distress or innocent people harmed. So they frame stories to provoke emotion over reason.
Remember how “temporary detention centers” under President Barack Obama became “kids in cages” under President Donald Trump? The rest of the story—that many of those children were being trafficked by people falsely claiming to be relatives—was ignored in favor of whatever would generate the most outrage.
That’s the strategy: short-circuit reason, inflame emotion, and make the public angry enough to denounce ICE, withdraw support from Trump, and—if not vote Democrat—at least stay home and refuse to vote Republican.
It’s a psychological operation, and you are the target. If you don’t consent to importing millions of foreigners to displace your fellow citizens, you’re branded racist, xenophobic, and cruel.
Of course, none of the journalists decrying ICE raids shed tears when the FBI hunted down anyone who was present at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Those men and women were separated from their families, persecuted beyond reason, and made into examples. Where was the compassion then? Where was it for Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed woman shot by a Capitol police officer?
It’s all “who, whom,” as Vladimir Lenin observed long ago. This is the Marxist framing of every issue: oppressor versus oppressed. In that framework, illegal aliens are always the “oppressed” and therefore cannot be wrong, while Trump, ICE, and people like you and me are cast as the “oppressors” and therefore cannot be right.
This leads to strange contortions when leftists attack ICE agents with rocks, bottles, and even gunfire. As an example, see how NPR attempted to spin the story of a gunman who tried to kill ICE agents in Dallas, only succeeding in killing detainees instead:
The actual political philosophy of individuals who commit this kind of violence can be difficult to label.
Oftentimes, their views are a hodgepodge from both the left and right, said Rachel Kleinfeld, a political violence expert and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.
News outlets which support the idea that ICE is a reincarnated Nazi Gestapo scramble to figure out what to do when dangerous people take them seriously.
It’s all a psyop. If you believe in borders, in the rule of law, and in equal justice, then steel your heart and resist the narrative. Know that this is only the beginning.
Brian,
My nephew was with the BP as a sworn officer for ten years and another ten with ICE. He is married to a Venezuelan, speaks Spanish, served a mission in Guatemala, has numerous in-law Latinos in our family, as do we. He is sober and judicious and no racist, and was an instructor for ICE officers for years. You should hear his telling of what is really happening pre and post Obama and Biden. It is rarely pointed out by the media that over fifty percent of BP officers are Latino and at about thirty percent in ICE. His live action stories of really goes on in these agencies puts the media to shame. ICE and BP are professionals and take great pride in their professionalism. It is their badge of honor as much or more than the one on the chest.
Regarding, “This narrative is even stranger when you remember that Idaho is a red state.”
I would argue that Idaho is not a red state. They are basically Truman Democrats, more or less socially conservative, but economically totally dependent on the federal government. The media is blue because most of the state is too, and if you cut off the federal funding half the state government would be gone.
Idaho is not a red state, it is simply another economically dependent blue state with a more traditional democratic social conservatism.