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A Venezuelan man legally in the U.S. when he was captured by federal immigration authorities earlier this year is suing local police officers in Whitefish for their role in his arrest.

Beker Rengifo del Castillo filed his lawsuit Monday against officer Michael Hingiss, police chief Bridger Kelch and the city of Whitefish in U.S. District Court.

Hingiss pulled Rengifo over in April, reportedly for a broken taillight. He was then quickly swept up by Customs and Border Protection agents and shipped to a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement center in Tacoma, Washington, only to be released days later.

Rengifo had been in the U.S. with a legal immigration status since July 2024.

"You can't detain someone just for being non-white and speaking Spanish, especially when they

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