OGDEN CITY – An arrest by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Ogden last week led residents to question the city’s cooperation with the agency.
On Aug. 25, an Ogden City Police officer was filmed watching as an ICE agent arrested a driver. The footage was captured by Ogden City Council Member Kevin Lundell.
Commenters on social media questioned why the Ogden City Police Department (OPD) was collaborating with ICE.
In response, the OPD released body cam footage from the arrest on Facebook, along with a lengthy caption detailing the officer’s involvement.
In their description, OPD said both ICE and the man who was arrested asked the officer for help. An ICE agent asked for help with the arrest. The man, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as an immigrant from Venezuela, sought out the officer because he was worried he was being followed.
OPD said the officer stayed on scene to help de-escalate the situation, but said he was not involved in the arrest itself.
“As we have stated previously, the Ogden Police Department does not enforce federal immigration law, nor do our officers have the authority to do so. Our mission and purpose remain the same: ensuring the safety of those who live, work, and recreate in Ogden City,” OPD Police Chief Jake Sube was quoted as saying in the caption.
Ogden City does not have a formal agreement with ICE like other law enforcement agencies do in the state.
However, the incident led many to question the OPD’s relationship with ICE.
Ogden residents’ response
At an Ogden City Council meeting on Sept. 1, residents spoke to council members for nearly two hours to share their concerns and disappointment about the situation.
“This body assured the community that Ogden Police would not collaborate with ICE… Yet last week, when a man listened to that advice and came to an Ogden Police officer seeking help, this officer worked with ICE in tearing this man away from his family,” resident Brexton Lee said.
Resident Carolyn Quinn told council members that when she was growing up, she was taught to seek out police officers if she needed help.
“If I was teaching second graders today, I would have trouble giving out that lesson,” Quinn said.
Residents asked the council to create better, clearer policies on how Ogden Police should behave when encountering ICE.
“Our police officers should absolutely not have to wing it on these ICE-OPD interactions,” resident Heath Satow said.
Ogden City Mayor Ben Nadolski told the public he was grateful for their comments and said the city was already working on policy.
When community members interrupted to ask when the policy would be ready, Council Chair Richard Hyer told the public they were out of order.
Residents yelled out “shame” as Hyer put the meeting on a recess.
When they came back, Lundell, the council member who filmed the interaction, echoed community members’ concerns that their worries about ICE have been dismissed for the better part of a year.
ICE arrests have spiked across Utah and the nation this year.
Amid concerns about increased ICE activity, a proposal sponsored by Lundell earlier this year sought to put into writing that Ogden’s resources wouldn’t be used to enforce immigration law outside of what’s required. That proposal was rescinded in March amid concerns it would break state law.
Speaking on Tuesday, Lundell said more protections need to be in place to make sure the rights outlined in Utah’s constitution are being upheld.
“At the end of the day, this person who was detained reached out to an Ogden Police officer and asked for help defending their life and their liberty against an unknown force that was tracking them. And at the end of it, they got detained,” Lundell said.
Council members said they would explore policy solutions within the mayor’s office and the police department, but noted that their scope was limited by state and federal law.
