Two former Utah state court clerks were arrested after federal prosecutors said they helped a person in the country illegally avoid arrest by U.S. Immigration a
Two former Utah state court clerks were arrested after federal prosecutors said they helped a person in the country illegally avoid arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a Logan courthouse.
Jennifer Joma, 27, and Lauren Kelsey Morrow, 26, both of Logan, were indicted on June 3. The indictment was unsealed on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
Both women were charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens and obstruction of proceedings before departments and agencies. Joma was also charged with transporting illegal aliens.
Salt Lake City mayor raises concerns after ICE meeting on proposed detention center According to federal court documents, Joma and Morrow were working on April 9 at the Logan City Municipal Justice Court when an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer entered the courthouse to arrest a person on immigration-related charges. Prosecutors said the officer had an administrative warrant for the person who was at the courthouse for a court hearing.
The officer later went outside and waited in his vehicle for the person to leave the building before attempting the arrest. After learning ICE was at the courthouse, Joma and Morrow allegedly improperly accessed court databases to determine the immigration status of people listed on the court docket. Federal prosecutors said the women identified multiple non-citizens and intercepted them before they left the courthouse.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ICE’s intended target was among the people Joma and Morrow helped slip out a back door. Prosecutors said the women led people through a secure area, down several hallways and out of the courthouse without being seen by ICE. Court documents allege that after helping one person leave through the back door, Joma and Morrow were seen on surveillance video waving and smiling. Prosecutors said Morrow also made an obscene gesture toward the camera.
On a second trip, prosecutors said Joma drove three people away from the courthouse in her personal vehicle before returning to work. In a federal detention filing, prosecutors described Joma and Morrow as “self-appointed anti-ICE vigilantes” who “took the law into their own hands. ”“I don’t like ICE, so I’m okay with it,” resident Emi Tice said.
“If there are those aiding and abetting, then there are laws and they should be prosecuted in that space,” Martin said. Former U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber said it is the first case of its kind he has seen in the state.
“This is a time when people are on edge wherever you are on the political spectrum, and this issue of immigration enforcement gets people’s attention,” Huber said. “We can all have our deeply held political or philosophical beliefs,” Huber said. “But when we try to impose those upon others by breaking the laws and standards of society, that’s when we leave the safety net.
” Federal prosecutors said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, the Trump administration’s nationwide initiative focused on illegal immigration, cartels and violent crime. Courthouse arrests by immigration officers have drawn renewed scrutiny after the Trump administration rescinded a 2021 policy that limited immigration enforcement in or near courthouses and other protected areas.
Huber underscored the severity of federal charges, reiterating how the videos of Joma and Morrow smiling and seemingly celebrating after helping the suspected illegal immigrants leave the courthouse could be further damning to their case.
"I think a lesson to be learned here is that federal authorities are serious and that it's no laughing matter to engage in conduct that rises to the level of a federal felony. This is not a joke," he said.
"Brandishing an obscene gesture during the course of an alleged federal offense is never likely to inspire prosecutors to look the other way. "Crews responded to a grass fire just north of Capitol Hill near Ensign Peak in Salt Lake on Wednesday. The Salt Lake City Fire Department said it was respondingFour military fighter jets from Hill Air Force Base caused quite the commotion after flying over Salt Lake County.
Dozens of residents called the KUTV newsroom TA travel trailer rolled onto its side on Interstate 15 in St. George, causing major delays. Lt.
Zach Randall with Utah Highway Patrol said an SUV was pulling thA Herriman nurse has been charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after police said they found thousands of prescription pillsThe Pentagon's revision to its list of Christian religions this week has reignited a nearly 200-year-old debate: Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sai
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