ICE Raids Idaho Lawmaker's Farm
Source: Migrant Insiider
State Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen was reported to ICE for speaking out against Trump's immigration policies.
Ale Franqueza Apr 02, 2025
An Idaho Republican state representative has accused her own party of weaponizing federal immigration authorities against her after she publicly criticized former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, according to ace reporting from Investigate West.
State Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, a seventh-generation Idahoan and farmer, said her family’s farm was raided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just three days after a local Republican official falsely reported her to the agency. The incident, which unfolded in late January 2025, has sparked outrage among some residents and raised concerns about political intimidation in the state.
Mickelsen, who represents a district in eastern Idaho, had spoken out against Trump’s hardline stance on immigration, noting the critical role immigrant labor plays in the state’s agriculture industry. “If you think that you haven’t been touched by an illegal immigrant’s hands in some way along the production chain ... you are kidding yourself,” she said in a local news report posted to X:
Her comments drew the ire of Ryan Spoon, vice chair of the Ada County Republican Party, who publicly called for ICE raids on Mickelsen’s farm, accusing her of employing undocumented workers. On Jan. 21, the day after Trump’s second inauguration, Spoon posted on X, “Could you please send some illegal immigration raids to the businesses owned by Idaho state Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen? She has been bragging about how many illegals her businesses employ.”
Spoon followed through by reporting Mickelsen Farms to ICE’s tip line and website, according to a report by Newsweek on April 1. By Jan. 27—one week into Trump’s second term—The Idaho Statesman reported that an employee at Mickelsen Farms was arrested by ICE. She described the ordeal as an attack on her livelihood by “a recent transplant from San Francisco” who she said misunderstood Idaho’s agricultural values...................................
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Idaho has a lot of real hard liners Repugs. I would never want to move there, not ever!!
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