A 33-year-old Venezuelan man arrested by Border Patrol following a Whitefish traffic stop filed a lawsuit against the city of Whitefish, Police Chief Bridger Kelch and officer Michael Hingiss, who handled the stop.

Beker Rengifo del Castillo’s Monday filing accuses the defendants of “racial profiling” that resulted in a “horrific and traumatic experience” in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Missoula. Upper Seven Law, a nonprofit law firm, will represent Rengifo del Castillo.

Angela Jacobs, the attorney for the city of Whitefish, said in an email she could not comment on active litigation.

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Rengifo del Castillo had entered the country legally under a Biden-era program that

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