A 38-year-old man walked to a microphone in Ogden Justice Court on Jan. 29, expecting a brief hearing where he’d be arraigned on misdemeanor charges after a fender bender.
He had no idea that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers planned to meet him there.
Police said the man had smelled of alcohol after he rear-ended another car, causing minor damage and no injuries, at a stoplight in December. Prosecutors were not seeking a jail sentence.
But Judge Clay Stucki broke the news: The man would not be allowed to leave the courthouse — for a reason that had nothing to do with his case. ICE agents were waiting for him.
The man took a step back, slowly shook his head and looked toward the ground.
”I personally feel bad that we’re going to have to take you into custody. That isn’t my choice or decision, but it’s something under federal law that I’m going to have to follow,” Stucki said.
The man’s wife, seated with his daughter near the back of the room, put her hand to her head.
The judge told The Salt Lake Tribune he had not been aware in advance that ICE planned to appear in the courtroom that day. The hearing occurred a week after ICE — in a change from policy under the Biden administration — broadened the circumstances under which it will pursue undocumented immigrants in or near courthouses.
Stucki said he worries that any increased ICE enforcement inside courthouses could cause a chilling effect, deterring people from showing up for scheduled court appearances. That could lead to warrants for their arrest or other consequences.
“Justice courts certainly are not immigration courts, and none of us right now are probably well acquainted with how immigration law and immigration enforcement fits in, especially with the small misdemeanors that the justice courts handle,” Stucki said.
He added that he hopes things work out well for the defendant, who was given the time to enter a plea and resolve his case. The arrest “was, I’m sure, traumatic for him and his family,” Stucki said. “But I do appreciate the ICE agents tried to allow us to make it as least traumatic as possible.”
‘I am sad,’ judge says
The man had initially been charged with two class B misdemeanors, accused of both DUI and leaving the scene of the crash, though police arrested him a short distance away. He consented to a field sobriety test, according to a probable case affidavit. He also faced a traffic infraction for driving without a valid license.
“I do want to at least give you the benefit of talking through your options with an attorney,” Stucki told him in court, after informing him that ICE planned to seize him.
The man thanked him, but Stucki told him not to. “I am sad,” the judge said, before repeating the last word in Spanish. “Triste.”
After the man spoke with counsel, an Ogden city prosecutor ultimately agreed to instead charge him with one class B misdemeanor count of impaired driving, dismissing the other charges. The man pleaded guilty, was fined $1,500 — which was taken out of bail money he already paid — and received a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail.
He kissed his wife, who left with their daughter before the man was led away.
“I don’t have a good working knowledge of how this immigration process is working, but I don’t think an impaired driving [charge] makes you a bad person or would make you a bad citizen,” Stucki told the man. “I hope whatever judge you see in the immigration system sees it the same way.”
In his eight years of service as a judge, Stucki said, this was the first time he’s seen ICE appear to arrest a defendant outside his courtroom.
Justice courts operate in cities and counties across the state, allowing people to conveniently pay fines and address ordinance violations, infractions and class C and B misdemeanors. Common misdemeanor cases in Moab’s Grand County Justice Court, for instance, include “traffic violations and safety citations issued to river runners,” according to the court’s website.
The judge said he’s not sure how ICE knew about the man’s immigration status. Nor are Ogden City prosecutors, who said they did not provide information about the man’s immigration status to ICE.
The man’s probable cause statement from police did not specify whether he was undocumented, noting only that he “is a Colombian national and does not have a valid Utah Driver’s License despite having a home and vehicle and presumably a job in the state.”
The process used by ICE “could be as simple as they monitor anybody that is arrested,” Stucki said, “and then from there they can follow, well, what court is it assigned to? And then, what court dates do they have?”
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Salt Lake Tribune, beyond confirming it was received.
This week, the chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, along with the state court administrator, issued a memo to judicial officers and state court employees acknowledging that ICE is “enhancing their immigration enforcement efforts,” including “in and around courthouses.”
“We recognize and understand that this may be concerning for some judicial officers and employees and that these issues can evoke strong personal feelings,” the memo read. “The judiciary values the well-being of all judicial officers and employees and remains committed to fostering a professional and respectful workplace. It is also essential that we uphold the judiciary’s role as a neutral and impartial institution.”
The memo notes that courts do not have the power to prevent ICE from conducting “lawful enforcement actions” and states that no one in the courts, including independent contractors, can “warn court patrons of pending ICE plans or discourage court patrons from appearing in court in order to help them avoid apprehension by ICE.”
‘Back on the table’
Adam Crayk, a Utah immigration and criminal defense attorney, wasn’t surprised to hear about the Ogden man’s case.
Courts were “basically off limits” to ICE during the Biden administration. Now, he said, “courts are back on the table.”
And justice courts, he explained, have “the easiest pickings.” They “have filed the most charges,” he said. “That’s the easiest place to get people.”
James Retallick, executive director for the Weber Public Defender Group, shared Stucki’s concern that increased immigration enforcement in courthouses could scare defendants away from court. Crayk said victims expected to testify could be dissuaded from showing up, too.
Retallick pointed out that class A misdemeanors in Utah are currently punishable by up to 364 days in jail, a limit intentionally set by the state’s Legislature in 2019 because a 365-day sentence can be considered “a serious offense subject to deportation.”
A Utah bill proposed this legislative session would change that sentencing limit back to 365 days. It would require sheriffs to notify “the relevant federal immigration authority” when they are about to release an undocumented person charged with a class A misdemeanor or a felony.
“You’re opening up a huge category of offenses that they could deport on,” Retallick said. “That’s if they move it to 365 [days].”
In several cases cases he is involved in, Crayk added, individuals with either very little or no criminal history are being taken into ICE custody.
“This whole notion that only violent criminals are being arrested is complete and utter garbage,” Crayk said.
ICE maintains a detainee locator that families can use to help locate loved ones. But based on an initial search of the federal system, it is unclear where the man detained last week is now located.
Correction • Feb. 5, 8:40 a.m.: This story has been updated to correctly attribute a quote to Adam Crayk.
