The immigration crackdown in Minnesota has highlighted the limited political power state Democrats have to resist the administration. Years of debate over the roles of states in enforcing federal immigration law have led to what some call “sanctuary policies,” or cooperation on the other end of the spectrum, in the form of 287(g) agreements, for example.
But what happens in a state, like Utah, that has signaled support for the Trump administration’s immigration policies? Some Salt Lake City residents are calling on local leaders to do more to protect immigrants.
A rumor about the potential for an immigration detention center in the city limits has already raised questions about what local Democratic leaders can do. Council member Eva Lopez Chavez said she is looking into how to use the city’s powers to approve or deny any associated permits and entitlements.
“I have really great fear that what is happening in Minneapolis is now the blueprint of what's to come in Salt Lake City,” she said.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall has sent a letter to the potential site’s owner, saying the utilities around the warehouse are not built to hold a large number of people and that a detention facility would need to comply with building requirements for bathrooms, exits and fire suppression systems.
In a statement, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said she will use every available tool to keep a detention center from opening in the county. State Sen. Luz Escamilla and Rep. Angela Romero, both Democrats, said an immigration detention facility has no place in Utah.
Even before any mention of a detention center, advocates have been pressing for more action from the city to protect residents from ICE. At the Jan. 13 Salt Lake City Council meeting, Rachel Otto, chief of staff for Mayor Mendenhall, said the city “doesn’t, hasn’t and will not” enter into an agreement to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But that’s not enough for residents like TJ Young.
“Our message to them is you, that's a passive, that's telling me what you're not doing,” Young said. “I want to know what you are going to actively do.”
It’s not the first time residents have spoken up against local and federal collaboration. In 1998, Salt Lake City was on track to sign the nation’s first-ever 287(g) agreement, but the council voted against it due to concerns over racial profiling.
Even without a 287(g) agreement, local agencies can decide to what degree they want to collaborate, said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. ICE often asks local police to help them enter a neighborhood or conduct an investigation, he said.
“It's quite clear by now that the federal law cannot compel the local officers to do something on their behalf,” he said.
During public comment at the city council meeting, one idea mentioned frequently was to pass a resolution that called for the abolition of ICE. It’s common for localities to pass laws, especially during election seasons, to be supportive of or punitive toward immigrants, Chishti said, but they are more performative than effective.
“You can't abolish ICE by a resolution of a local city council,” he said.
The city council in Aurora, Colorado, recently codified its opposition to “lawlessness and overreach by I.C.E. agents.” To Young, who is in frequent contact with residents who have been detained by ICE, a similar resolution here would show immigrants they are seen.
“It lets both the immigrant community know that we do care, that we are trying to watch, we are trying to be watching and helping and that we are resolved,” Young said. “We are making a resolution to support them and try to help stop this from happening.”
Another request was for Salt Lake City leaders to require that ICE present a valid judicial warrant before accessing any city resources.
That’s constitutional, Chishti said, but it must be enforced to have any impact.
Residents also urged the city to educate residents on their rights and support local immigrant advocacy groups. Knowing your rights is great on paper, Chishti noted, but it can be hard for individuals to invoke them in practice.
“That's why a lot of us U.S. citizens are carrying papers these days,” he said. “We know we don't have to carry papers. That's our constitutional right not to have to carry papers. But do you want to pick a fight with an ICE officer at a street corner who thinks that you may be unauthorized?”
The most effective thing a city could do, in his view, is invest in legal resources for people who have been detained — particularly in training attorneys to file habeas corpus petitions to release people who, under previous administrations, would have been released on bond.
“What's happening is that people who have lawyers get due process,” he said.
Respondents in immigration court are not entitled to free legal representation, unlike defendants in criminal court. Just having a lawyer makes a big difference in whether people avoid deportation.
After the meeting, Young sent further recommendations to her council representative. She wants individuals to be able to call the Salt Lake City Police Department to confirm whether masked agents are who they claim to be.
Chishti doubts this would work since ICE does not have to provide the names of its employees to local law enforcement. But Young hopes police could stay at the scene long enough for activists and witnesses to arrive and document what they see.
Young would also like local police to open investigations into ICE arrests. She suggests accessing security camera footage from nearby businesses to review ICE activity. The idea came from a situation in which a driver was accused of trying to hit an ICE agent with his car, she said.
“Their lawyer was able to say, ‘OK, we have dash cam,’ and the mood changed completely. The agent stopped threatening them. He walked away,” she said.
A similar incident occurred in Salt Lake County last January. Security camera footage contradicted ICE agents’ claims that a man tried to swerve and hit them.
Chishti said having local police request security footage would be fair game, and state and local law enforcement have the right to monitor federal agents.
But standing up to ICE comes with a risk of retribution.
President Donald Trump recently threatened to stop sending federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities and their states. Salt Lake City Council member Alejandro Puy alluded to retaliation when he told the crowd that the city council is not the enemy.
“There are also opportunities to lose the little ground that we have if we are too careless,” he said. “And what would happen if we put our finger on the eye of those that really have power over us, our city?”
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
