Why are federal immigration agents riding along with Weber County Sheriff’s deputies, joining Utah Highway Patrol traffic stops, smashing the windows of cars where the driver is only suspected of speeding and disappearing two roofing contractors who were just on their way to work?

The answer can only be a malevolent level of racial profiling and a policy in Weber County that undermines the legitimate work of its law enforcement agencies.

Thanks to a video posted on social media, we know that a car carrying three men was stopped on I-15 by a UHP officer April 1. The trooper called for back-up and soon a Weber County Sheriff’s deputy arrived, carrying two agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

From all appearances, the ICE agents involved are no fans of de-escalation tactics that most legitimate law enforcement agencies teach their officers. After issuing threats laced with profanity, one of the ICE agents smashed the driver’s window and, assisted by the UHP officer, dragged him from the car.

We are told that one of the ICE officers was aiming a gun at the occupants of the car, though that’s not on the video.

All three of the auto’s occupants were arrested. One — an American citizen who videoed much of the incident and was legitimately in fear of his life — was soon released. The other two, whom we are told were in the country illegally, have disappeared into the ICE Gulag Archipelago.

Even though the Trump-dominated Supreme Court of the United States has effectively legalized racial profiling for immigration sweeps, the practice is disgusting and destructive of honest law enforcement techniques.

As the smart cops have been telling us for years, mixing immigration enforcement with regular police work is a bad idea. It creates a society where even people who are here legally have to fear any contact with law enforcement, refusing to cooperate, to report crimes or come forward as witnesses.

ICE is causing enough trouble all over the United States. With compliant courts and an inert Congress, that apparently can’t be stopped. But Utah law enforcement agencies don’t have to be an accessory to their lawlessness.

Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.