Ogden council members pursuing measure to quell jitters over immigration crackdown

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Two Ogden City Council members are pursuing a resolution meant to ease jitters over the immigration crackdown.
It would spell out the city's intent not to enter into a formal cooperative agreement with federal immigration officials.
Several speakers voiced concerns with immigration enforcement action on Tuesday, the same day Ogden High students held a protest on the issue.

OGDEN — In response to jitters among some in Ogden about the ongoing federal immigration crackdown, two Ogden City Council members are working on a resolution meant to quell concerns about overt city cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The proposed resolution draws from comments Mayor Ben Nadolski made that the city isn't working with ICE "and formalizes those in the form of a joint resolution," said Keven Lundell, working on the measure with Alicia Washington, a fellow City Council member. "We're just taking those promises and writing them down. We believe what that does is it will help build trust between the city and our community and our police department."

Several people addressed the council on Tuesday, criticizing the unfolding national crackdown on illegal immigration by federal agents as overly aggressive and heavy-handed. One speaker who identified himself only as Sam singled out the ongoing federal crackdown in Minneapolis, which led to the death of a woman at the hands of an immigration agent during an encounter on Jan. 7.

ICE agents' "pattern of conduct across the nation is an affront to the Constitution," Sam said. "I do not want our police drawn into it. ... This is not what public safety looks like. This is recklessness."

Several others voiced similar sentiments at Tuesday's meeting, specifically expressing opposition to idea of the city entering into a formal cooperative accord with ICE to track and detain immigrants. Several sheriff's offices around Utah, including the Weber County Sheriff's Office, have inked such agreements, known as 287(g) accords.

Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski said Tuesday that the city will not pursue a formal cooperative accord with federal immigration officials. He's pictured on Jan. 6, 2025, at Ogden-Hinckley Airport. (Photo: Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)

The Ogden Police Department has previously posted messages via social media saying it has no authority to enforce federal immigration law and won't take part in raids based solely on the migratory status of would-be targets. Chief Jake Sube addressed Tuesday's meeting to reiterate the department's position.

"We are not part of the 287(g) program. We will not be a part of the 287(g) program. I hope you can hear that and see that I'm stating that very clearly," he said. "We do not participate in ICE operations, in raids or sweeps. ... We have not and will not and will continue not to."

There are four types of 287(g) accords that variously entail increased cooperation between federal immigration officials in identifying immigrants in the country illegally in jails and during routine law enforcement operations, among other things.

Sube said he's aware of the concern immigration enforcement operations have prompted among some. "It's not lost on me that there is fear, that there is concern, there are members of our community that are stressed out, nervous and scared. I get that, absolutely get that, and we work every day to keep having these conversations and communications to try to overcome that," he said.

Like Sube, Nadolski also offered forceful words on the issue. As in Ogden, some Salt Lake City residents have pressed leaders in that city to take a stance against ICE action.

Under his leadership, the city "will not be participating in a 287(g) agreement," Nadolski said. "I've also been very clear to my police department that we're not going to just stand by and let our people be victimized."

At any rate, Ogden police have had limited involvement with ICE agents, Sube noted, referencing an incident last November when city police sought help from immigration officials in identifying a woman who had been pulled over for a traffic infraction. Unsolicited, the woman told the responding officer she had recently entered the country illegally, prompting officers to reach out to ICE for help in identifying her. Turns out the woman had a felony warrant in her name out of Texas.

Lundell, for his part, said the resolution he's pursuing would help ease the concerns of those most worried about ICE agents' activity.

In light of the possibility of increased ICE activity in Ogden and demonstrating against the action, it's important that local residents know that Ogden police are "not ICE and that they're separate," Lundell said, speaking Thursday. "They're there to keep peace, and they're not there to enforce or collaborate with ICE in any way."

During Tuesday's meeting, he referenced the 287(g) accord the Weber County Sheriff's Office has with ICE, drawing a sharp contrast.

"The Weber County Sheriff's Office supports ICE. Our community does not," he said, referencing his time campaigning in the lead-up to his election to the council last November and a demonstration Tuesday by Ogden High School students. "I know that because I spent six months talking to them. I know that because I saw the Ogden High students out there protesting today."

Two Ogden City Council members say they're pursuing a resolution to spell out the city's intent not to reach a cooperative agreement with federal immigration officials. The issue was focus of a demonstration Tuesday by Ogden High School students, in the photo. (Photo: Ogden Teen Activism)

Some 100 to 250 students walked out of class early on Tuesday and demonstrated against the immigration crackdown along Harrison Boulevard in front of the school.

Washington said the verbal commitments from Nadolski and Sube help, but her hope is "to codify the language" in a joint resolution by the City Council and mayor. "We're elected to protect our community, and part of that is putting those words into action," she said.

Lundell isn't sure how long it will take to craft a proposal and said it remains to be seen whether it has enough support to pass.

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