U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has reached a deal with the Utah Department of Corrections, one that will allow state corrections officers to turn inmates over to ICE, the state agency has announced.
Such handovers will likely happen when an inmate in Utah’s prisons has completed their sentence, similar to how the state has handled ICE detainers in the past, said Glen Mills, communications and government relations director for the Utah Department of Corrections.
The deal, announced Wednesday in a news release, formalizes the process by allowing Corrections employees to act as warrant service officers and serve ICE administrative warrants themselves, Mills said.
The release also says the agreement formalizes UDC’s cooperation with the federal agency “to remove dangerous criminals after their sentences are complete.” The two agencies “have been working together” informally in this way for several years, the release said.
Employees at the state’s two main prisons — the Utah State Correctional Facility in northwest Salt Lake City and the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison — will be trained to become warrant service officers, the release said.
“We will not tolerate those who come to our country illegally and victimize our citizens,” Jared Garcia, executive director of the Corrections department, said in the release. “We will continue to collaborate with our local, state and federal partners to hold these people accountable.”