ICE raids Gallatin County sites, with as many as 100 detained

BOZEMAN —A series of targeted immigration enforcement operations across Gallatin County this week has left residents reeling, with community organizations estimating that more than 100 people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The arrests may be part of a broader nationwide surge in immigration detentions ahead of the holiday weekend.

“What we’re hearing is ICE arrived as early as last Thursday and have been making multiple detentions,” said Sally Moyce, board member of Gallatin County based immigrant resource center, Bienvenidos. “We’re hearing a lot of reports of individuals being pulled over in their vehicle and then being detained along with anybody else who happens to be in the vehicle. We’ve heard reports of agents knocking on doors, perhaps looking for a specific person, but then detaining anybody who happens to be in that location. We’ve also heard reports of people being detained who actually do have legal authorization to be here.” 

Bienvenidos estimated that 25 to 30 people were detained between Monday and Tuesday, followed by more than 80 detentions on Wednesday, with additional arrests continuing through Thursday.

Moyce emphasized tracking exact numbers is made more difficult by the lack of information from federal agencies. 

“We are depending on input from families and loved ones in addition to observers,” she said. “Lack of transparency and accountability with ICE makes it impossible to know what they are doing, who they are taking or where they’re sending them.” 

Three Blocks Away

On Monday morning, Bozeman resident Brandy Straub dropped her 12-year-old daughter and her neighbor’s 11-year-old at Camp Equinox, a summer theater camp at Bozeman Summit School that hosts more than 100 kids for two sessions each summer, spanning grades from kindergarten to eighth grade. 

As Straub left the school, two men jumped out of a pickup truck and ran across the street, leaving the vehicle to slowly roll into a street sign. Straub slammed on her brakes to avoid the truck. Moments later, two ICE agents chased the men on foot, with guns drawn. 

“They looked like a freaking cartoon, they were running in jeans and hoodies, with what looked like a police vest, maybe, but I’m not kidding you when I say it looked like it came from a Halloween store,” said Straub. “Then one of them pointed his gun at me through my passenger side window.” 

Straub said she felt instantly paralyzed. 

“I didn’t know what to do, so I drove, but all I could think of was my daughter and the children right down the street,” she said. 

Straub immediately called the school to notify them, and confirmed the school had no knowledge of nearby ICE raids. “They were never told. Fortunately because it was raining, maybe divine intervention, the kids were all inside anyway,” she said.

Then she called 911. 

“The woman I got with the dispatch said that they couldn’t do anything about it, that what ICE agents do is not their responsibility,” said Straub. “I explained to her that I understand they didn’t have any control over these agents, but that they have 120 children in a school three blocks away. And no one to protect the community, obviously, since I just had a weapon drawn on me.” 

Both the Bozeman Police Department and the Gallatin County Sheriff’s office confirmed the recent increase in ICE activity, but stated they were not coordinating with ICE. 

“We are aware of what’s going on, we are not participating in it,” said Bozeman Police Department Patrol Lieutenant Quinn Ellingson. “Because they (ICE) are a different agency, we actually don’t have involvement in that and don’t know what their goals and objectives are.” 

“Anytime our federal law enforcement partners are doing some kind of operation they let us know since there’s a de-confliction that has to occur so we don’t run into one another,” said Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer. “We appreciate them coming down and doing their job, we allow them to do their work, and appreciate the public’s response to that.”

Residents, though, described their work as less than professional.

“This was chaotic, unprofessional, disorganized, and incredibly unsafe,” said Straub. “My assumption is they (ICE) probably didn’t even know there was a school with a camp going on three blocks away. Because they don’t give a rat’s a– about our community. 

“As angry and terrified as I was, I can’t imagine what our immigrants are going through right now. I feel for these families, for their children. This was not a professional process. I don’t think anyone deserves to be treated this way.” 

Two days later, a similar scene unfolded in Gallatin Gateway Village. 

According to an on-site witness who out of fear of retribution and retaliation asked to be identified only as “J,” ICE agents arrived at approximately 5 a.m., as workers from several construction and masonry companies were boarding buses bound for the Yellowstone Club worksite. J was worried speaking out could cost him his job.

“The first two or three buses were already fairly loaded, getting ready to go,” said J. “Then it all turned to chaos.”

J described the scene as an explosion. 

“Not a single one of them identified themselves. They came out and were just running around with hoodies and (bullet-proof vest) plates. Everyone was running. ICE started tackling guys and handcuffing them. They threw them into the vehicles and just took off,” he said. “I think I saw about five arrests. There was a lot going on.”

ICE also collected belongings people left behind. 

“ICE took their bags, their helmets, everything, and threw them in their trucks,” J said. “They kept circling and swarming the neighborhood, even after the buses left.” 

J also said some employees and bus drivers appeared to cheer as the arrests unfolded.

“Several of the bus drivers, at least four of them, were all standing around smiling and pointing out, you know, like, ‘Oh, he ran that way.'”

“I was like, ‘Wow. I really thought higher of you,'” J said.

The Yellowstone Club did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Montanan. PCL Construction sent the following statement:

“PCL Construction is aware of reported immigration enforcement activity in the Big Sky area. Based on the information available to us, the activity did not occur on a PCL jobsite. We are working with our project team and subcontracting partners to understand any potential project impacts. PCL uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility for all PCL employees, and subcontractors are responsible for verifying the employment eligibility of their own employees in accordance with applicable laws. Safety, compliance and respect for everyone on our projects remain top priorities.” [/indent]

A Human Misery Pipeline

Andres Haladay, an attorney with Upper Seven Law who assists in immigration cases throughout the state, described the incredible difficulty of tracking people taken by ICE. 

“When ICE arrests someone, they’re not reporting it in any way. This isn’t like going to a regular court or a jail where your name is reported,” Haladay said. “You’re held in a place like the Helena Hold Room, which is completely off the map in terms of where somebody is. The ICE DTE locator does not say where you are. It provides no opportunity for people to speak to legal counsel, no opportunity for people to call loved ones. And from there, you could be put on a plane or a van to anywhere. It could be days before people figure out where a loved one or family member is, if they ever find out at all.”

People are often transferred rapidly between facilities. As of Wednesday evening, the Cascade County Detention Center listed 20 people with immigration holds, 15 of whom had arrived within the previous three days. By Thursday morning, 10 had already been transferred elsewhere. Their destinations remain unclear.

Haladay said one common transfer route from Gallatin County begins at the Helena Hold Room, continues to the Cascade County Detention Center, then to Jefferson County, Idaho, before ultimately ending at detention facilities in Washington or Nevada. 

“Our understanding as of this week is that the volumes that they have are so big that people are going different places and unfortunately we’re not going to know until there’s an autopsy where some of these folks went,” Haladay said. “There’s no disclosure of who they are, where they are, and they have no way to contact friends and family.”

Haladay also emphasized the poor conditions in which people are being held, citing descriptions from previous filings. In one instance, a client reported that 17 people were confined overnight in the Helena Hold Room, a space measuring approximately 200 square feet, because ICE was unable to process them quickly enough. Based on the client’s report, the group was forced to share a single blanket among all 17 people.

“The Helena Hold Room is an entry point to a human misery pipeline,” Haladay said. 

Andrea Sweeney, an immigration attorney and founder of Big Sky Immigration Legal Services & Advocacy, emphasized the people taken over the week do not have criminal records. 

“My understanding is that nobody has been criminally charged as a result of these raids,” Sweeney said. “Every case I’ve heard about involves administrative immigration detentions.”

Sweeney pointed out many people taken by ICE are law-abiding individuals who are already participating in the legal immigration process, with pending applications and scheduled court appearances.

“Many individuals that are being detained, they’re already in the immigration process. They already have filed applications. They already have court dates that they plan to attend, and so detaining them now just doesn’t make any sense because they’re already moving their case through the process,” Sweeney said.  

She added that immigration is a very complex system, with cases often taking years to resolve, and that living and working in the United States while those cases are pending is a standard part of the legal immigration process. 

“It really isn’t a matter of somebody being undocumented or not, they’re in a process,” Sweeney continued. “These processes can take many, many years, and in the interim, people need to be able to live and work and create their lives. They should be afforded the due process rights to see that to the end, while they’re not detained, not locked up in a detention facility.”

Gallatin’s Next Steps

In the meantime, local organizations and community members continue to offer assistance to immigrants and their families. Bienvenidos confirmed Thursday evening they were able to distribute 70 grocery boxes delivered to families. 

Moyce encouraged community members who wish to help to volunteer and donate to local organizations providing mutual aid and legal assistance. 

For those who are searching for a loved one, Moyce recommended reaching out to Bienvenidos directly. 

“We have somebody who can help find family members or loved ones who have been detained,” she said. “The majority of people here in Gallatin County are very welcoming and generous and understand that immigrants strengthen our community. Most people are saddened by this and nervous on behalf of our neighbors. We actually really just want ICE to go away.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Daily Montanan.