A 38-year-old man walked to a microphone in Ogden Justice Court on Jan. 29, expecting a brief hearing where he would 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.”
Read more at https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/02/05/utah-man-unexpectedly-taken-into/
Video from Ogden City Justice Court
Reporting by Brock Marchant | The Salt Lake Tribune