A letter signed Jan. 2 by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Sheriff’s Association leadership, including Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby, outlines a series of immigration and detention problems in Utah needing immediate attention.
At the top of the list: the immediate removal of Salt Lake City Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Director Michael Bernacke. The letter expresses ongoing frustration with Bernacke’s leadership and lack of cooperation with state and local police agencies.
“... Mr. Bernacke no longer has any credibility or good faith with the Cox Administration or the larger Utah law enforcement community,” the letter states.
An email seeking comment from Bernacke’s office was not immediately returned to KPCW Wednesday.
Rigby, who serves as second vice president of the statewide sheriff’s group, also did not respond to a request for comment. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office declined to weigh in.
The letter from the Republican governor and the state’s sheriffs is addressed to former ICE director Tom Homan and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Homan is President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar at the White House. Noem has been nominated to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It comes on the heels of a November announcement from Cox that Utah is ready to support a Trump plan to amp up deportations. The twice-elected Republican also announced a set of priorities to “identify, incarcerate and deport” undocumented migrants in Utah who have committed crimes.
The joint letter from Cox and the sheriffs' association further details how Bernacke and state law enforcement agencies have clashed.
It claims Bernacke falsely accused Utah of being a “sanctuary state” after several county sheriffs had to terminate jail contracts with ICE due to “unreasonable and unworkable detention standards.” It also says Bernacke meets suggestions and offers of assistance with resistance and excuses.
The letter also proposed a set of reforms, including asking the Trump administration to adopt the detention standards used by the U.S. Marshals Service, or defer to state standards. It claims current ICE policies are “complicating state counties’ ability to hold ICE detainees.”
According to Cox, the state has been told only 40 beds are available in the Las Vegas facilities, which are split between Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Montana.
Along with Cox and Rigby, the letter was signed by Utah Sheriff’s Association president Tracy Glover of Kane County. Other signatories are sheriffs Travis Tucker of Duchesne County, Steve Labrum of Uintah County and Mike Smith of Utah County who all serve on the association’s executive board.
