A day after its raid at Delta Downs June 17, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged the actions taken at the Vinton, La., track. However, in response, the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association is calling on its members and tracks to not allow ICE or those claiming to represent ICE on track backstretches without "an official warrant."
In a press release, ICE said that it, working in coordination with the U.S. Border Patrol, the Louisiana State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI, "arrested approximately 84 illegal aliens during a worksite enforcement operation" at the track, which is in the midst of a Quarter Horse meet.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office and Lake Charles Police Department also assisted with the operation.
ICE said that the raid "focused on the businesses that own and race" Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses "out of the stables at the racetrack and the employees who work for them and take care of the horses."
Officials for ICE received information that there were unauthorized workers employed at the track's stables. It said those "suspicions" were confirmed in a subsequent visit to the backstretch.
ICE closed down roads surrounding the track and utilized drones as part of its operation.
Of the 84 arrested individuals, two had criminal records: One a 36-year-old male who was convicted twice for driving under the influence and once for cocaine possession and illegal reentry; the other a 40-year-old male who has been arrested for criminal conspiracy, aggravated battery with a dangerous weapon, sexual battery, and video voyeurism.
"ICE Homeland Security Investigations is working closely with our federal and state partners to review each case of unauthorized employment at the racetrack to identify any other criminal activities that were taking place in addition (to) labor exploitation and immigration violations," said ICE HSI New Orleans special agent in charge Eric DeLaune. "Oftentimes, when we're conducting these worksite enforcement operations, we uncover other forms of criminal conduct such as document and benefit fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking. As a result, we're able to bolster public safety in the local community by eliminating that criminal activity and removing any dangerous criminal aliens, transnational gang members or other egregious immigration offenders who illegally entered the country and are working at the business without authorization."
In its release, ICE said that an investigation into "potential criminal conduct related to the hiring of the illegal aliens remains ongoing and an assessment of whether any civil penalties are appropriate is being conducted."
It is not yet known if the raid will have any effect on the ongoing meet at the track, but horsemen advocates expressed concern about the safety of the horses as a result of such operations.
There are second-hand accounts that horses were allowed to run free after those attending to them were detained, and that horses were left on walking wheels and tied to wall ties.
According to a report in the Daily Racing Form, the National HBPA Wednesday "issued a notice of guidance to its membership and to U.S. racetracks claiming that no agents for (ICE) or any individual representing ICE should be allowed on the backstretch of a racetrack without an official warrant."
DRF noted that in the notice, National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback described the raid as "shocking and disruptive" and "concerning and unacceptable."
"We must urge racetrack management and security staff not to be complicit in allowing unchecked access to the stable areas," Hamelback said.
He called the backstretch a "nonpublic, restricted-access agricultural workplace" that requires judicial warrants.
"To do so could potentially violate the constitutional rights of workers and other individuals present, expose the racetrack and its operators to liability, and compromise the care and welfare of the horses in their charge," he said.
In a statement to National Thoroughbred Racing Association members, the organization's president and CEO Tom Rooney said that several members have "expressed their concerns about this action and the potential impacts of similar actions in other jurisdictions on the U.S. horse racing industry."
At the heart of the concern is an apparent reversal from United States President Donald Trump, who recently walked back his support of protecting workers in the agricultural and hospitality industries. Word of the change began spreading through ICE and Homeland Security June 15.
Rooney noted in his comments that Trump had "acknowledged that the administration's immigration policies could have a negative impact on the farming, hotel, and leisure sectors of the U.S. economy. His comments were viewed as a hopeful sign by many that state-licensed and regulated facilities like racetracks would not be targets of immigration enforcement."
"The President has indicated his support for a legal process for law-abiding workers in the agricultural sector to continue doing their jobs in the United States utilizing the H-2B visa program. The NTRA supports that vision," Rooney said. "We are redoubling our efforts to communicate to the administration and legislative leaders the importance of our workforce to local economies supported by our farms, breeding operations, and related agribusinesses."
