The ICE arrest of a youth soccer coach at his green card interview sparked headlines and protests in Salt Lake City. When KUER asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement why Jair Celis was arrested, the official statement was that he overstayed his visa. When The Salt Lake Tribune reported on his plight, ICE didn’t respond to their inquiries.
Instead, they later got a response from Homeland Security on social media.
Homeland Security referenced the man’s “criminal history” and called him a “SODOMITE AND CHILD ABUSER” in all-caps as they turned a screencap of the Tribune’s story into a meme. Across the Trump administration, agencies and high-profile employees have followed the president’s lead in their approach to social media. ICE itself frequently shares images of those it’s arrested, along with descriptions of the crimes it says they’ve been accused or convicted of, on X.
“They've taken a very deliberately bombastic approach to public communication about law enforcement,” said Michael Kagan, who directs the immigration clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Criminal history could mean a charge or a conviction, Kagan said. The Homeland Security post makes no mention of a specific crime or statute that was violated.
“Their intent, of course, is to put anyone who might defend an immigrant on the back foot, because who would want to defend a sodomite?” he said. “But exactly what are we talking about? That's not very clear.”
He doesn’t think ICE is making up allegations, but he cautions against taking their posts at face value. In October, for instance, he had a client who had been acquitted of all charges, according to the Las Vegas Sun. The ICE field office in Salt Lake City still posted about the man’s arrests.
Juvenile court records look to be the basis of Homeland Security’s post. Celis was charged with sexual abuse of a child in 2015. Juvenile court documents show he was accused of sexual acts with a girl under the age of 14 that took place when he was 17. He either admitted to the charge or the allegations were found to be true. A second allegation was redacted.
Attorney Adam Crayk told the Tribune the sexual activities were consensual.
ICE can arrest anyone who lacks legal status. There’s no requirement that someone be accused or convicted of a crime. In the case of Celis, an ICE spokesperson told KUER the reason was that he overstayed his visa. And the government’s form from the day he was arrested states that his criminal history checks were negative — a juvenile record wouldn’t have appeared.
Since ICE doesn’t need a criminal reason to make an arrest, Kagan sees the post on X as the government’s way of smearing Celis’ name. More broadly, social media posts are one way the administration can make its case to people who are on the fence about its policies.
“They want to convince swing voters that they're only going after criminal immigrants, because that's what's most popular,” he said.
But the numbers don’t support that narrative. Nationally, a third of people arrested by ICE under the second Trump administration have had no criminal record. Many of those with a criminal record had minor offenses, such as a traffic violation.
In Utah, from February through mid-October, 17% of people arrested by ICE had no criminal record, while another 28% had only pending charges, according to KUER’s analysis of government data provided by the Deportation Data Project.
Support for arrests of immigrants with no criminal records is split along party lines, according to polling from August and September by the Public Religion Research Institute. Sixty-one percent of Republicans are in favor, compared to 26% of independents and 12% of Democrats.
Being in the country without a valid immigration status is a civil, not criminal, offense.
On top of trying to swing potential voters, Kagan said the government is speaking to the president’s core audience.
“They also, I think, are seeking to confirm the perceptions of parts of their base who already perceive immigrants as predators.”
In response to Homeland Security’s X post, Celis’ attorneys are exploring their options for a potential libel suit.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
