WHITEFISH, MT – A man who was held in a federal detention facility after Whitefish police pulled him over for an allegedly faulty taillight in April has filed a lawsuit alleging racial profiling and a violation of his constitutional rights against the city of Whitefish, Whitefish Police Chief Bridger Kelch, and Officer Michael Hingiss, who conducted the traffic stop.
Beker Rengifo Del Castillo, 33, is a Venezuelan citizen who was leaving a job near Whitefish Lake on April 24 when Hingiss stopped him, according to the lawsuit, allegedly for a broken brake light. Hingiss called Customs and Border Protection, and Del Castillo was left in the custody of a Customs and Border Protection officer and subsequently taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Washington, “a horrific and traumatic experience,” according to court documents.
Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs told the Daily Montanan in an email that the city cannot comment on active litigation.
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Missoula. Del Castillo is represented by Upper Seven Law.
In the lawsuit, Del Castillo’s attorneys allege that Hingiss called Customs and Border Protection because Beker “only speaks Spanish” and Border Patrol may “want to check him,” despite Del Castillo providing “proof of his lawful presence in the United States in the form of his valid REAL ID compliant driver’s license.”
According to the complaint, Del Castillo entered the United States in July 2024 through the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela Parole Program. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved Del Castillo’s application for work authorization on July 23, 2024, and issued him a Social Security number.
Del Castillo was leaving a work site with a coworker, in separate vehicles, this spring when Hingiss followed behind the two cars. According to the complaint, Hingiss called Customs and Border Protection “due to a language barrier,” but then left Del Castillo with a federal officer to “continue” the immigration investigation. The complaint states that the Border Patrol agent noted that Del Castillo may have legal status.
“Del Castillo’s story shows why untrained municipal police should not masquerade as federal immigration cops,” the lawsuit states.
Following his transfer to an ICE detention facility, Del Castillo was held until April 30, and then released with “no place to stay and no way to get home.”
“Because of this incident, (Del Castillo) is reluctant to leave his home and attempts to avoid all contact with law enforcement, fearing he will again be detained and incarcerated based on discrimination and without cause,” the complaint states. “(He) quit his jobs to avoid the risk of being racially profiled and incarcerated without basis while driving to and from work.”
According to the complaint, the Whitefish Police Department has a policy about immigration violations that Hingiss broke while detaining Del Castillo and calling Border Patrol. The policies include prohibiting officers from detaining “any individual, for any length of time, for a civil violation of federal immigration laws or a related civil warrant;” and no one who is “otherwise ready to be released should continue to be detained only because questions about the individual’s status are unresolved.”
The policies, according to the lawsuit, also state that an officer must notify a supervisor when detaining someone for an immigration violation, and seek approval before conducting an arrest for an alleged immigration offense and before transferring an individual to federal immigration authorities.
During a Whitefish City Council meeting in May, Police Chief Kelch told councilors the city had policies that “that strictly prohibit biased-based policing and improper profiling,” according to reporting by the Flathead Beacon. Kelch also stated that “we did not call Border Patrol for interpretation services.”
The lawsuit seeks actual, general and punitive damages and legal costs from the city of Whitefish and the police officers.
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Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.
