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- Ogden police sought help from immigration officials during a traffic stop on Washington Boulevard.
- Video of the incident and another earlier in the day also involving immigration agents circulated on social media, spurring the police to speak out.
- Given the charged atmosphere over immigration enforcement, police emphasize that they focus on public safety, not enforcement of federal immigration law.
OGDEN — Ogden police sought help from federal immigration officials Wednesday in detaining an apparent immigrant from El Salvador following a traffic stop in the city.
Part of the interaction on Washington Boulevard and another immigration enforcement action earlier in the day on Grant Avenue were caught on video by passersby and distributed via social media, prompting a range of reactions, pro and con. The Ogden Police Department, for its part, issued a statement Wednesday night amid questions spurred by the videos, saying police were involved in one of the incidents, the traffic stop, and affirming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were involved in both.
"The unique circumstances of today's incident led to cooperation with ICE agents for a limited and specific purpose — the identification and arrest of an interstate fugitive wanted for domestic crime. As has been stated in the past, the Ogden Police Department does not enforce, nor do its officers have the authority to enforce, federal immigration law," reads the police statement. "Our mission and purpose has always been, and will continue to be, ensuring the safety of those who live, work and recreate in Ogden city."
The presence of federal agents in public places carrying out immigration enforcement actions has become a flashpoint across the United States as immigration officials step up efforts to detain and deport those in the country illegally. Video of the forceful detention of a Salvadoran woman at Salt Lake City International Airport on Oct. 29 prompted backlash from some, though others laud such action. In that context, Ogden police issued a statement in late September, stressing that its role isn't to enforce immigration law.
"OPD has no authority to enforce immigration law. Our focus is on criminal conduct, not immigration status," reads the Sept. 23 post on the department's Facebook page.
Neither of the videos from Wednesday shows aggressive or violent action. In the first from the 2000 block of Grant Avenue, the agents speak separately with two people in yellow reflective vests. They direct them to vehicles with red and blue police lights, but the video doesn't show what happens next. In the second one from the 2400 block of Washington Boulevard, the same two agents, judging by clothing, appearance, and the license plate of their car, enter a vehicle. Two Ogden police cars are also at the scene.
The videos, though depicting no violence, apparently prompted feedback from some, spurring the Ogden police statement. Federal immigration officials didn't immediately respond to a query seeking comment.
"The Ogden Police Department is aware of images and video circulating online which document two separate incidents today involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Ogden city. This has prompted some questions from our community members about the nature of the incidents and questions about the Ogden Police Department's involvement," reads Wednesday's statement.
Ogden police didn't take part in the first incident on Grant Avenue, according to the statement, though an officer responded to reports of the activity. The second incident, around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, occurred after police stopped a vehicle with two women inside after the car allegedly went through a caution light at a pedestrian crossing.
"The driver indicated she did not have a driver's license, explaining that she'd just arrived in the United States from El Salvador approximately one week earlier via a 'coyote,'" reads the police statement, using the slang term for people who help immigrants illegally cross into the United States.
Unable to confirm the woman's identity and in light of "her unsolicited comments about her recent entry into the United States," police sought help from immigration agents. "They responded and confirmed that the woman had provided a false name and date of birth. Officers subsequently discovered the woman had an active, extraditable felony warrant out of Texas for a drug-related offense," reads the police statement.
The passenger also allegedly had an outstanding warrant for her arrest, and both were detained and booked into the Weber County Jail. Police provided no other information about the two women.
