Gov. Spencer Cox defended recent agreements to help federal immigration enforcement process people in Utah jails while saying the pacts do not place ICE under state control.

Cox said the agreements allow state and local authorities to assist with processing when requested and to coordinate deportation steps so that people who should be deported are not released back onto the street after serving a state sentence. “We don't control ICE. These agreements don't give us any control over ICE,” he said.

The issue matters because local communities have expressed fear that agreements with federal immigration authorities could lead to escalated enforcement or profiling. Cox said racial profiling is not acceptable in Utah and emphasized that the state and local sheriffs exercise discretion. “Racially profiling is not acceptable in our state, never will be,” he said.

Cox said the state had been doing pieces of this work informally and that a formal agreement should have been in place earlier. He noted similar agreements have existed in other states and departments, and that the goal is to ensure people who should be deported are processed through the jail system rather than released.

Discussion items included local concerns about ICE operations, the role of county sheriffs in exercising discretion, and the state’s effort to clarify processes and communicate with communities. Cox said he had “no control over ICE” and urged people to rely on sheriff statements for local practice.

Ending: Cox said the state will continue to work with sheriffs and community leaders to explain the agreements and to ensure the process follows law and constitutional protections.