Utah County Sheriff’s Office expected to enter agreement with ICE

PROVO, Utah (ABC4) — Utah County will vote to approve an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow local officers to execute ICE removal operations.

The vote is expected to take place in the Utah County Board of Commissioners meeting beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

ICE agreements with local law enforcement

On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that allows ICE to authorize local law enforcement agencies across the country to assist in immigration enforcement under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The agreement would enter the Utah County Sheriff’s Office into ICE’s 287(g) program, which delegates immigration enforcement responsibility and authority to local law enforcement. This is done by deputizing local officers to execute warrants on undocumented immigrants.

The Utah County Sheriff’s Office will vote on agreements ranging from “Interconnection security” to a “Warrant Service Officer Program.”

The 287(g) program is intended to service three models including.

1. The Jail Enforcement Model
2. The Task Force Model
3. The Warrant Service Officer program

According to ICE, the Jail Enforcement model is used for identifying and processing undocumented immigrants with criminal or pending charges.

The Task Force Model is used “as a force multiplier” for agencies to enforce immigration authority with “ICE oversight” during normal police duties.

ICE says the Warrant Service Officer program authorizes local law enforcement to serve and execute administrative warrants on undocumented immigrants. It also allows ICE to train local agencies in how to administer warrants.

ABC4.com is currently in contact with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and is awaiting a statement.

Who will be affected?

“Here in Utah County, ordinary people aren’t afraid of immigrants. They’re afraid of actual criminals, no matter what color of skin they have or where they were born,” Salt Lake Indivisible, a local non-profit, said in a press release.

Most recent data from the Migration Policy Institute estimates about 89,000 undocumented immigrants are currently living in Utah. 65% of Utah’s undocumented population has resided in the U.S. for over a decade.

ICE says the 287(g) program streamlines the serving of warrants to incarcerated immigrants with charges or convictions. The program is also intended to enhance information sharing between federal and local agencies.

Salt Lake Indivisible argues that the program would redirect local police resources and funding away from “genuine community safety concerns.”

Other agencies with ICE agreements

The Utah County Sheriff’s Office would not be Utah’s first police agency with a written agreement with ICE.

Beginning in March 2025, Beaver, Sanpete, Tooele, Washington, and Weber counties all signed ICE agreements. Beaver County Sheriff’s Office most recently joined the agreement signing on July 11, 2025.

The Utah Department of Corrections signed a Warrant Service Officer agreement with ICE on May 13, 2025, as part of an effort to streamline removal operations with undocumented individuals with convictions or criminal charges.

A vast majority of states in the U.S. have agencies with signed agreements with ICE. However, the state governments of Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticut have prohibited law enforcement agencies from signing agreements with ICE. Vermont, Rhoad Island, Delaware, and Hawai’i have no active or pending agreements with the federal agency.

Details of the agreement

Text from a similar agreement with Washington County Sheriff’s Office details certain terms of these local law enforcement agencies’ partnerships with ICE.

“Participating LEA personnel will carry out designated functions at the LEA’s expense, including salaries and benefits, local transportation, and official issue material,” the agreement reads. The memorandum promises no financial reimbursement for such costs.

The agreement also dictates procedure should a conflict arise between local law enforcement and an ICE officer. “If a conflict arises between an order or direction of an ICE supervisory officer and LEA rules, standards, or policies, the conflict shall be promptly reported to ICE, and the chief officer of the LEA…”

Signing law enforcement agencies are also instructed to “deconflict” all addresses, phone numbers and suspect identities to Homeland Security.

Citizen opposition to the agreement

The Board of Commissioners heard public comment in regard to the agreement, and residents of Utah County shared their concerns about and opposition to the agreement.

Many people stated that ICE is violating the constitution, committing violence, and wrongfully detaining and deporting people, all without consequences, and that is why they are opposed to the agreement. Others cited concerns over the lack of transparency and accountability with ICE, and what would happen to trust in local law enforcement if they were to work with ICE.

Another common theme was religion. Many people stated that the actions of ICE go against the bible or Jesus’s teachings. Others questioned just how much this agreement was going to cost and what the agreement would mean for data privacy.

One resident, a 12-year-old girl, recounted an experience where one of her classmates and friends was arrested by ICE. She concluded her remarks by asking the Board, “Will you promise to make our community safer with zero ICE raids that scare kids like me?”

Jim Bell, an Orem resident of 48 years, read a quote from a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and then he stated, “The partnership being considered today seems to simply perpetuate a broken system that needs to be fixed.”

Erin Walton, who described herself as a lifelong resident of Provo, stated, “I cannot support a partnership with someone who has proven themself to be untrustworthy all across the country.”

Another resident compared partnering with ICE to inviting the KKK over to dinner and stated, “It’s unchristian.”

The commission meeting can be viewed here.