Whitefish Police officer cited immigration violations as reason for contacting federal authorities during traffic stop
May 30—A Whitefish police officer cited recent immigration violations as a reason for contacting federal immigration authorities during an April 24 traffic stop that ended in the detainment of a Venezuelan man in the U.S. legally.
According to the case report, obtained by the Daily Inter Lake, officer Michael Hingiss called the regional dispatch line for U.S. Border Patrol to request "a person check," even though Beker Rengifo del Castillo had already provided identifying documents, including a driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of current insurance.
"Immigration violations have been an ongoing issue in Flathead County," Hingiss wrote in his account. "Spokane Dispatch did not provide any details on [Rengifo del Castillo] to officer Hingiss and stated they had an agent responding to officer Hingiss. The intent of the call was to check the individual stopped to see if any federal contacts were needed."
Rengifo del Castillo was held in federal custody for about a week following the traffic stop. He was released on April 30 without charge.
Andrea Sweeney, an attorney representing Rengifo del Castillo at the time of the incident, said the reason for the detainment was unclear. Rengifo del Castillo reportedly moved to the Flathead Valley from Venezuela in July 2024 under a two-year humanitarian parole program. The Trump administration has made repeated efforts to end the program, but a federal court order blocked the termination of participants' parole status at the time of Rengifo del Castillo's detainment.
Local law enforcement agencies lack the authority to enforce federal immigration policies, but area police departments confirmed that they do cooperate with Border Patrol officials in some instances, such as verifying the identity of unknown individuals.
In the case report, Hingiss stated that he noticed a car with a broken taillight at about 5:17 p.m. on April 24. The car's registration was not linked to a specific driver's license number. While not illegal, Hingiss suggested that the lack of an operator license number was unusual. The two cars traveled for about two blocks after Hingiss activated his patrol lights, reportedly passing "a safe area to stop on the shoulder" of the road to come to a final stop near the corner of 5th Street and Spokane Avenue.
Hingiss stated that Rengifo del Castillo did not roll his window down all the way and "appeared nervous" throughout the traffic stop. A language barrier was also noted several times in the case report.
Rengifo del Castillo provided Hingiss with proof of insurance, a car registration issued in October 2024, and a driver's license issued in March 2025. John Skinner, Rengifo del Castillo's parole sponsor, said he believed Rengifo del Castillo purchased the car last year with the expectation of receiving a U.S. driver's license in the coming months.
After reviewing the documents, Hingiss made the call to U.S. Border Patrol. An agent from the Whitefish office arrived on the scene as Hingiss was printing a written warning for the broken taillight on Rengifo del Castillo's car. The case report states that the Border Patrol agent aided Hingiss in communicating with Rengifo del Castillo.
WHITEFISH POLICE Chief Bridger Kelch declined to answer questions about the case report.
The chief has previously said that he did not believe that either explicit or implicit bias played a role in the outcome of the traffic stop and said the department would not be looking into the incident further.
The department's bias policy states that "any alleged or observed violations" of bias-based policing are subject to investigation by the department supervisor.
City officials have largely supported Kelch's interpretation of the event and spurned allegations of unfair policing practices.
"The Whitefish Police Department has no record of being racist at all," said Whitefish City Councilor Steve Qunell.
Qunell initially seemed to suggest that Hingiss' decision to involve Border Patrol in the traffic stop may have involved some level of bias.
"I've been pulled over before and nobody asks me my immigration status," he stated at a May 5 City Council meeting that involved discussion of the traffic stop.
But in a later interview with the Inter Lake, Qunell deemed criticisms of the Whitefish Police Department unfair. While he said that Rengifo del Castillo's detainment was unjust, Qunell argued that the blame for the incident lies with the federal government, not local law enforcement.
"I don't know what happened," he said. "We need to be transparent. I think that every law enforcement agency has been put in an untenable situation."
Qunell declined to comment on whether he had reviewed the case report or other internal documentation of the traffic stop, such as body camera footage.
The Inter Lake also contacted Whitefish City Councilors Rebecca Norton and Giuseppe Caltabiano for comment on the case report. Norton declined to comment. Caltabiano did not respond by deadline, but he expressed support for the Whitefish Police Department in an opinion piece published by the Inter Lake earlier this month.
"It is both troubling and unjust that some in our community are quick to vilify our officers without access to all the facts or regard for due process ... Our police department has clearly stated — and I fully support — that it does not engage in biased-based policing," wrote Caltabiano.
Officer Hingiss has not been accused of a crime, so he is not subject to due process at this time.
Images of the case report are available in the online version of this story.
Reporter Hailey Smalley may be reached at 758-4433 or hsmalley@dailyinterlake.com.
The first page of the police report filed on the April 24 traffic stop.
The second page of the police report filed on the April 24 traffic stop.
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