Provo, Utah — Utah County commissioners voted unanimously to increase the Utah County Sheriff Department’s cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The commission met Wednesday afternoon and approved three agreements with ICE through section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a program for local law enforcement to partner with immigration enforcement.
The policy establishes secure data-sharing between ICE and the sheriff’s department, provides sheriff deputies the authority to transfer detained undocumented immigrants to ICE and creates a special task force within the sheriff’s department. The policy also involves immigration enforcement conducting training for some Utah County Sheriff’s deputies.
Partnership with ICE
Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said he expects to have more oversight on ICE’s operations in Utah County under the new policy.
“I want to highlight the importance to me as the sheriff, to be able to have transparency with ICE, so that we are now on a playing ground that I can coordinate and I can be aware of activities,” he said.
Smith explained how in the past, there has not been communication between local law enforcement and immigration enforcement.
“Going back a few years back, it got so bad in the state of Utah with transparency, with our local ICE officials, we were getting nothing from them,” he added. “We had no idea what they were doing in the state of Utah, what type of operations they were running, we were begging for information,”
Now, under the new policy, Smith expects heightened communication and more transparency from ICE. He also voiced his personal opposition to ICE raids at workplaces, emphasizing he won’t support them in Utah County.
“If things are happening in this community that I am not okay with, like ICE raids, then we’re going to address those with ICE,” he said. “This brings us to the table, and I’m asking for the community’s trust.”
Public comment
More than 200 people packed the building’s lobby as the Commission Chamber filled to maximum capacity. Public comment lasted over three hours, with each speaker receiving two minutes. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, every person who made public comment spoke in opposition to the proposal.
Rob McFarland, a professor of German history at Brigham Young University, was among those who spoke in opposition to the policy.
“They [ICE] are unconcerned with the due process of law. It is not only the citizens that get the protection of the constitution,” he said. “All citizens and non-citizens of the United States, when they are dealing with American institutions, are under the law.”
He also emphasized the importance of resisting any cooperation with ICE in Utah.
“They have as much power as we give them, and this is a moment where we have the opportunity to say no, not in Utah County,” he said. “ICE is not a trustworthy, transparent, democratic institution, and there needs to be serious reform.”
He, along with many who spoke in opposition to the policy, warned against compliance with ICE.
“[ICE] creates drama, it creates confusion, and you can’t keep up with all the new information, the court cases,” he said. “This is political theatre, and I’m really going to urge us not to play with that.”
Utah County resident Liz Martin also spoke out about against the policy. She said she was speaking to represent women affected by domestic violence and emphasized the importance of a trusting relationship between citizens and their local law enforcement.
“By bringing ICE into Utah County, you can guarantee that there will be victims too afraid to report [domestic violence],” Martin said. “They will have to choose between being separated from their children and their own safety.”
Martin spoke directly to the Utah County Council and referenced ICE’s history of family separation.
“On behalf of every woman who currently is facing that predicament, please think of us when you think of [cooperating with] an organization that has shown us its toxicity, that has shown us it does not care about families,” she said.
Valerie Dinkins | Jan 2, 2026 at 2:37 pm
Will, you wrote a very unbiased article. Giving a voice for the ones that agreed with or disagreed with working with ICE, to keep the UT County sheriffs & community informed and share sheriffs files with ICE.
Thank you!
Jay Hansen | Jul 21, 2025 at 12:34 pm
Utah County did this independently of what its residents may feel about it. Thus has it always been. When the profit has spoken, the thinking has been done.
J M | Apr 9, 2026 at 4:08 pm
I’m a Utah County resident and I agree with this decision, the only thing I would change is that I would want the Sheriff’s department to support worksite raids.
Encouraging and allowing massive amounts of undocumented workers is actually what large corporations would want, as it provides them a cheap source of labor. So, in this case, the enacted policy is actually counter to what the profit motive would be.