Utah police department reconsidering cooperative accord with ICE after ride-alongs

MT. PLEASANT, Sanpete County — The North Valley Police Department is reconsidering its cooperative agreement with federal immigration authorities after federal agents took five people into custody following ride-alongs last week with officers from the Sanpete County law enforcement agency.

In a statement Wednesday, North Valley Police Chief Steve Gray offered an unusual rebuke of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, leading the crackdown on illegal immigration across the country. He also expressed sympathy with those alarmed by the presence of ICE agents with North Valley police officers as they carried out their routine duties the evening of Sept. 30. The ICE agents took part in "ride-alongs" with three North Valley police officers during their patrols in Mt. Pleasant, Moroni and Fountain Green that evening.

"We love being at your events and we loved feeling welcomed into your communities," Gray said in a statement on the NVPD Facebook page. "I was very heartbroken and concerned about the fear that the people felt. I feel for the people who felt they could not send their kids to school or go to work to provide for their families and I promise you I never wanted that to happen."

The police department has a formal cooperative accord with ICE, a 287(g) agreement, and Gray, aside from criticizing the ICE officers involved in the ride-alongs, indicated that he is leaning against maintaining the arrangement.

"After a review (of) information provided to me by our officers, North Valley Police Department is reevaluating our 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and I do not see us moving forward with the agreement (My opinion)," Gray wrote. North Valley Police Department is one of numerous law enforcement agencies across Utah and around the United States that have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE, one prong of the federal immigration crackdown.

ICE didn't immediately respond to a query seeking comment.

But Gray said some of the tactics employed by the ICE agents during "the stops, investigations and detentions" while accompanying the NVPD officers "did not coincide with our values, policies and procedures." Gray didn't provide specifics, but the presence of the ICE agents on Sept. 30 prompted fear among many in Sanpete County, according to a report the day after in the local newspaper, the Sanpete Messenger.

"Multiple sources say families spent (Oct. 1) calling the federal detainee locator trying to find their loved ones, and many in the local Hispanic community stayed in their homes out of fear," the newspaper reported. The detainee locater is an online tool to pinpoint the facilities where ICE detainees are being held.

Gray said the arrests of the five people by the immigration agents followed routine traffic stops that occurred as the ICE officials were riding with the police officers. He doesn't have the names of the five people.

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"To my knowledge, I do not know why the detentions were made other than immigration federal officers made the detentions," Gray wrote. The ICE agents took part in the ride-alongs until around 11 p.m. on Sept. 30 and after that, they "then transported the five detainees. I am not aware of where the detainees went with the ICE officers."

Gray emphasized that no particular business was targeted. The Sanpete Messenger said some reported that the roadway around a turkey processing plant in Moroni seemed to be a hotspot of activity on Sept. 30.

"I'm sorry for the businesses that felt targeted or shut down in the following days out of fear. That never was something I wanted to see," Gray wrote.

The presence of ICE agents in the Moab area on Sept. 21 sparked a dust-up among some. The Grand County Sheriff's Office expressed disappointment at the "unprecedented lack of information and communication" in the matter from immigration authorities.

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