JEROME, Idaho — A music festival in southern Idaho has been canceled because organizers say they feared potential raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The music festival called the El Tour de Idaho de Los Inquietos was supposed to take place in Jerome on Saturday.
Event organizers with the Colombia Event Center posted the cancellation notice on Facebook.
Leo Morales of ACLU of Idaho said he couldn't confirm that any Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in southern Idaho, but he said community members were panicked.
"Immigration is doing their work on a daily basis, that is true," Morales said. "That's what they do. It is important for all community members, regardless of their immigration status, to know their rights in regards to law enforcement."
KTVB reached out to ICE public relations for comment and the organization send a statement: “ICE does not conduct sweeps or raids that target aliens indiscriminately. ICE’s enforcement actions are targeted and lead driven. ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement in compliance with federal law and agency policy.
“Due to law-enforcement sensitivities and the safety and security of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, the agency will not offer specific details related to enforcement operations. ICE officers make arrests every day in the course of carrying out their mission to uphold public safety.”
Jerome County Sheriff George Oppedyk said he didn't have information about ICE agents in the area. "It is absolutely possible that ICE could do a raid and we wouldn't know about it," he said.
Oppedyk said the agency is not required to tell local law enforcement that it is conducting raids. But he did say ICE would inform local police if its activity involves a case that police are already working.
Ticketholders were told to get refunds from where they purchased tickets.
