Officers with the U.S. Border Patrol arrested eight people over the course of two traffic stops in Whitefish earlier this month, its Public Affairs Office confirmed to the Flathead Beacon Wednesday. The arrests renewed concerns over the complicated jurisdictional relationship between federal immigration authorities and local police.
The first traffic stop, which took place July 12, was initiated by the Whitefish Police Department. The police department put out a media release last Monday about the stop and Border Patrol’s involvement in it.
“An officer observed the subject vehicle traveling 62 MPH in a posted speed limit zone of 45 MPH heading north on Highway 93,” the release stated.
During the stop, the driver could not provide a driver’s license, proof of insurance or registration. One passenger in the car provided a license. When police ran it through the Criminal Justice Information Network, the license had an active alert for an immigration warrant.
“In accordance with Whitefish Police Department policy, U.S. Border Patrol was dispatched to the location,” the media release stated.
The release directed reporters to contact Border Patrol for further information about the immigration investigation.
“Our involvement was a traffic stop in which an individual in the vehicle had an immigration warrant,” Whitefish Police Chief Bridger Kelch said in an interview with the Beacon.
A Border Patrol spokesperson, Edward Dean, would not answer questions about the nature of immigration warrants for those in the car. He said due to privacy concerns, Border Patrol does not comment on individual cases, or on criminal or immigration histories of the people they encounter. He said six people were in the vehicle the Whitefish police officers had pulled over.
“There were six illegal aliens in the vehicle that the Whitefish Police Department had stopped,” Dean wrote.
They were all arrested by Border Patrol, according to Dean.
A Facebook post from the U.S. Border Patrol Spokane Sector on July 17 includes a photo of six people with their faces blocked out. It states Border Patrol helped local law enforcement in Whitefish with their arrests. It also states all six were “Honduran nationals” and “have been transferred to ICE and will be processed for removal from the United States.” Border Patrol confirmed the page was its official social media page, but did not confirm whether the post was referencing those arrested during the July 12 traffic stop.
Border Patrol also initiated a traffic stop on July 14, during which agents arrested two people. Kelch said his police department was not involved in that traffic stop. Dean stated in an email that two Border Patrol agents performed the July 14 stop, but he couldn’t “discuss the specifics” of an individual stop.
Border Patrol would not comment on criminal or immigration histories of the arrestees. The spokesperson wrote that was due to privacy concerns.
The agency would not give specifics as to where arrestees were being held, though Dean said generally, individuals arrested by Border Patrol are transferred either to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detention and removal, or are transferred to the U.S. Marshals Service for detention pending criminal proceedings.
“When someone is taken into custody, it is due to criminal charges or immigration violations,” Dean wrote. “We arrest illegal aliens and other offenders — under specific legal authority. This includes foreign nationals who have been ordered removed by an immigration judge, foreign nationals who are unlawfully present in the United States, individuals with outstanding criminal arrest warrants, and those committing criminal acts in our presence.”
The Beacon asked Dean about people who had entered the country legally, under federal programs like a Biden-era one that allowed thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to enter the U.S. to escape political or environmental upheaval at home. Beker Rengifo del Castillo, a 33-year-old Venezuelan man who had entered the country legally under that program, was arrested by Border Patrol in Whitefish after a traffic stop in April. He was transported to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., before being released April 30.
Dean pointed the Beacon to a press release put out at that time. The release stated that “actions taken by Whitefish Border Patrol agents are compliant with federal immigration law and agency protocols.” No comment was made specifically about Rengifo del Castillo’s case in that press release.
Leanette Galaz, an activist with the group Flathead Democracy, said the organization received word about the Border Patrol-involved traffic stops via social media.
John Skinner, the board vice chair of Valley Neighbors, a local nonprofit that aims to make the Flathead Valley a more welcoming place for migrants, said community members have “established community channels” they use for outreach when they witness a traffic stop involving migrants.
“In general, the community at-large is really hyper-aware of police stops right now and the potential for traffic stops to involve immigrants and what the consequences might be for those individuals within the community,” Skinner said.
Immigration has been a flashpoint both locally and across the country since President Donald Trump took office. He promised to carry out mass deportations of immigrants and curb migration during his campaign. Since taking office, he has signed executive orders ending birthright citizenship; took aim at CBP One, a mobile app that allowed immigrants to schedule appointments with Border Patrol before their arrival in the U.S.; and increased military forces along the southern border.
In the first six months of Trump’s presidency, the Department of Homeland Security reported the Trump administration had made 300,000 arrests of people in the country illegally. The Big Beautiful Bill, which passed at the beginning of the month, included funding to hire 3,000 new Border Patrol agents.
Galaz, with Flathead Democracy, said two traffic stops resulting in arrests within such close proximity triggered a “protest response” among local activists. She put out a call to the group’s membership on July 14. She asked for people to show up to the Whitefish Border Patrol station that evening. Galaz herself did not attend.
Katama Vorsheim did attend the protest. She first became involved with Flathead Democracy after the April 24 arrest of Rengifo del Castillo.
The incident sparked protests and a contentious Whitefish city council meeting on May 5. Council members pressed the police chief to answer for Rengifo del Castillo’s arrest. His arrest resulted in a policy that officers must alert a supervisor before contacting Border Patrol. The police department’s press release said the policy was followed during the July 12 traffic stop.
Vorsheim said around 15 people attended the recent protest in front of the Border Patrol station and remained outside through the night, even during an intense thunderstorm.
“I think it’s easy for people to judge when they drive by and not understand why we’re out there, but I think the main thing that brings us all together for protesting outside that office is we really want to defend due process, even for folks who were not born in this country,” Vorsheim said.
Skinner said his organization contacted a relative of some of the detainees. They referred detainees to the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, an organization out of Tacoma that helps defend the rights of immigrants.
For some, the traffic stops involving Whitefish’s police department remained top-of-mind as the city council met Monday.
Kelch, the Whitefish police chief, explained to the council what happened during the stop and responded to questions from Councilor Rebecca Norton.
“I just wanted to clarify that our police officers are mandated to honor warrants, either immigration warrants or criminal warrants, and if there’s any kind of crime, they have to intervene,” Norton said.
Norton participated in demonstrations protesting Rengifo del Castillo’s arrest in April. But she also previously said she was satisfied that local police were acting in line with policy.
“We just can’t let somebody that doesn’t have insurance or registration and a driver’s license leave,” Kelch said.
He clarified the car police stopped on July 12 was not detained for immigration reasons. Instead, he said police held the car as they handled the traffic violation. As the officer continued with the traffic stop, Kelch said, Border Patrol was also notified about the immigration warrant. The traffic stop was extended by other extenuating circumstances. Kelch said Border Patrol came as the officer wrapped up the stop.
An incident report from the police department did not include any further details about the stop. Angela Jacobs, the city attorney, said a second page was not included in the incident report because it contains “confidential criminal justice information.”
Kelch said it wasn’t the police officer’s job to enforce the immigration warrant, because they did not serve it. That means they don’t have jurisdiction to handle it, and are required to call in Border Patrol.
“We encounter many warrants when we conduct traffic: civil, criminal,” Kelch said. “We wade through that. Every court issues them different from every state, and we get warrants and notifications from every state and federal agencies as well.”
He commended his officers for how they conducted the stop.
Skinner, with Valley Neighbors, stated the nonprofit has requested more information about the July 12 stop.
“Continued monitoring of law enforcement interactions with local immigrant community members is important to ensure that violations of the law are not being perpetrated by law enforcement,” Skinner wrote in a July 23 email.
Dean responded to local concerns, writing that Border Patrol is “committed to making our communities safer.”
“Every action we take, every decision we make, we strive to ensure it is executed in accordance with the authority granted to us by the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes and established policy,” he stated. “Our agents are trained to conduct enforcement actions professionally, humanely, and with respect for due process and individual rights. Our duty is to enforce the laws as they are written, and we strive to do so with integrity and a commitment to national security and public safety.”
In an email, Skinner cited incidents of “questionable” behavior among Border Patrol agents.
“Members of the community have expressed concern about how Whitefish Border Patrol has conducted themselves,” Skinner wrote. “… We are also aware of the Spokane Border Patrol sector producing social media posts showing detainees displayed in a dehumanizing manner, amounting to degrading propaganda.”
He pointed to the July 17 Facebook post as an example.
Galaz said Flathead Democracy has been working on guidance for those who witness traffic stops potentially involving immigrants. That guidance includes stopping and taking video of interactions with Border Patrol. It also includes attempting to find out names of those involved in traffic stops, and gathering contact information for their family members.
“This behavior from the government is federal overreach that we don’t agree with and we’re not gonna let it happen without oversight and attention,” Galaz said. “We’re gonna broadcast it.”