A Whitefish Police officer summoned federal agents to a routine traffic stop over the weekend after determining an immigration warrant existed for a passenger in the vehicle.  

The officer followed new departmental guidelines for involving federal authorities in immigration matters, said Police Chief Bridger Kelch in a statement released on Monday.  

The stop began after the officer spotted a white van allegedly speeding about 7:35 a.m., July 12, near the intersection of U.S. 93 South and Commerce Street, according to a department press release. When the driver was unable to provide a driver’s license, proof of insurance or proof of registration, the officer asked a passenger to provide their license.  

A query on that license returned an active alert for an immigration warrant, officials said. The officer contacted a supervisor, who authorized the officer to then contact U.S. Border Patrol agents. 

Kelch said that the officer asked the passenger to provide a license to ensure a lawful driver was available to operate the vehicle at the traffic stop's conclusion.  

Kelch did not directly answer a question regarding the nature of the immigration warrant and the agency that issued it. Department policies state that “an officer should not detain any individual, for any length of time, for a civil violation of federal immigration laws or a related civil warrant.” 

The Whitefish police officer issued a notice to the driver to appear for multiple traffic offenses and concluded the traffic stop at 8:15 a.m., 40 minutes after pulling the van over. It is unknown at what time the officer made the call or how long it took Border Patrol agents to respond. 

Border Patrol was not available to provide comment by publication. 

The incident comes just weeks after several Whitefish city councilors expressed concerns about the municipality’s involvement with immigration enforcement. Advocates initially raised concerns about the Police Department’s relationship with Border Patrol in April, after another routine traffic stop concluded in the detainment of Kalispell resident Beker Rengifo del Castillo. 

Originally from Venezuela, Rengifo del Castillo was living in the United States under a humanitarian parole program. At the time of his detainment, federal courts had stayed the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke the legal humanitarian status of thousands of Central and South American immigrants.  

The Supreme Court overturned that decision on May 30.  

The Department of Homeland Security has since emailed termination notices to parolees urging them to “self-deport” immediately, though many former parolees may qualify for other forms of relief, such as asylum. Other humanitarian parole programs remain in place. 

Local immigration advocates say they have noticed a recent increase in Border Patrol activities. Flathead Democracy, a grassroots organization that has hosted several events protesting the Trump administration, claims that Whitefish Border Patrol agents have detained at least eight individuals in the past few days.  

The group huddled under tarps and rain jackets outside the Whitefish Border Patrol Office for five hours on the morning of July 15, protesting what they characterized as abductions by federal immigration officials. 

“This is hugely concerning to the community given the very loose parameters Border Patrol is using to pick people up and the obvious racial profiling they are using to find their victims,” stated the organization in an email to the Inter Lake.  

Protesters reportedly disbanded at about 5 a.m.  

Reporter Hailey Smalley may be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].