The Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City is pictured on Wednesday, January 3, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Immigration officers arrested multiple people in Salt Lake City courtrooms with assistance from bailiffs this week, a tactic that critics say is likely to scare defendants, witnesses and victims out of cooperating with authorities and uses state court resources for federal enforcement.
Attorneys from the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association told Utah News Dispatch they were surprised when their clients, who were not being held in jail while awaiting trial, were taken away from the Matheson Courthouse without warning on Monday and Tuesday. They said the arrests appear to be a new feature in Utah of President Donald Trump’s intensifying immigration crackdown…