Several concerned citizens commented at the Whitefish City Council meeting last week about the actions of the local police department and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol that resulted in a Venezuela immigrant who was legally living in Kalispell to be held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center for a week. 

Beker Rengifo del Castillo was detained April 24 by Border Patrol officers after a traffic stop for a broken taillight in Whitefish. He was sent to a processing facility in Tacoma, Wash., and released a week later. 

Rengifo del Castllo’s personal sponsor, John Ratka Skinner, told the council Rengifo del Castillo had a valid Montana driver's license, car insurance and a valid work permit at the time of his traffic stop. 

“There was really no reason for Whitefish Police to call Border Patrol other than the fact that he was brown and didn’t speak English,” Ratka Skinner said. “We are seeing ...  an ethnic cleansing here in our valley.” 

A woman who only gave her first name as Shannon told the council about feeling fearful of living in Whitefish. 

“Despite being a U.S.-born citizen, I maybe don’t look white enough,” she said. 

As a person with brown skin, she said she fears meeting law enforcement in Whitefish, her home for 24 years, because Border Patrol can detain people for “absolutely no cause.” 

“If I'm overheard speaking Spanish at coffee traders or down at the park, is someone going to call the police?” she asked. “Are the police going to call Border Patrol? Am I not going to end up going home that night?” 

She added that her family members, who have brown skin and Latino last names, will not be coming to visit Whitefish this year, to avoid meeting TSA and the local law enforcement. 

“This didn’t just happen to Beker,” she said. “This is happening to me, every day that I live here.” 

Whitefish Police Chief Bridger Kelch said the belief that the police use the Border Patrol for interpretation services is not correct. He said the department has an interpretation service and does not prevent officers from using translation apps on their phones. 

He said the Whitefish Police Department does not enforce immigration law — the federal government does. However, Kelch said his department is required to detain a person for criminal immigration issues. 

“In this situation, there was a question about immigration status due to a number of factors under reasonable suspicion that the officer had,” he said, adding the officer contacted Spokane sector dispatch to look into Rengifo de Castillo’s immigration status and that dispatch then sent agents to the location. 

“Border Patrol conducted the immigration investigation and made their determination,” Kelch said. “We had no part in that. We did not observe the arrest, take part in the arrest, or facilitate the arrest.” 

Councilor Steve Qunell asked for transparency and an explanation of how a traffic stop becomes a situation that involves the Border Patrol. 

“I've been pulled over before and nobody asks me my immigration status,” Qunell said. “This idea of probable cause or reasonable suspicion has always been murky. 

“I want to be transparent for our community members so that they know how we go from a busted taillight to detention in Tacoma,” he added. “How does Border Patrol end up showing up in that case?”  

Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs told the council there are legal reasons preventing the discussion of confidential criminal justice information. 

Kelch said the police department immediately initiated a procedure wherein a supervisor must be notified prior to an officer contacting Border Patrol. He said the department has also reviewed its policies, including ones regarding bias-based policing and immigration violations.