U.S. House candidate Aaron Flint delivered doughnuts to the Whitefish Customs and Border Protection station Friday afternoon during a campaign event the Republican touted as a peaceful gathering in support of Border Patrol.

The event drew about 40 people to Grouse Mountain Park where county commissioners mingled with legislative candidates and members of the local Republican Party in the parking lot before walking to the nearby Border Patrol station on U.S. 93 West.

"The real reason we're here is to stand up and show our support for common sense over crazy," Flint said. "Common sense backs the blue. We back our sheriff. We back our local police officers and law enforcement, and heck, yes, we back our Border Patrol agents." 

Flint, who is competing with Democrat Sam Forstag for Montana's Western District House seat, asserted that more funding should be directed toward the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement actions and said he saw no room for nuance in the issue of immigration. 

"I've met so many legal immigrants who came to this country legally, and they will tell you, we have got to stand for freedom," Flint said. "We have got to secure our borders here because there is nowhere else to flee to. There is nowhere else to run to." 

In July, the Department of Homeland Security received $70 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. That is on top of a $75 billion federal surge made last year for immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now the nation's highest funded federal law enforcement agency, with a budget larger than the FBI's.

Asked which countries the United States should accept immigrants from, Flint blamed what he characterized as a flood of people from other countries for the rising cost of living.

"Now, who should be allowed into this country," the Army veteran said. "I had interpreters that I served with in Iraq and Afghanistan that risked their lives on my left and my right, while we were being blown up by [improved explosive devices], while we were being shot at. Well, I had to watch my daughter be born over a computer screen, and yet, these guys act like my military service never mattered." 

In a review of federal immigration records, the Associated Press found that about 170 people crossing the border between October 2018 and July 2025 listed the Flathead Valley as their destination.   

Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said he attended the event as a show of support for political candidates that back law enforcement agencies, including Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

He emphasized the importance of providing both agencies with funding and resources, including in the form of assistance from local law enforcement agencies. 

"You can name any three-letter agency out there," Heino said. "We have to work together."