In response to a request by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that as of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket, which includes those detained by ICE, and on the agency’s non-detained docket. Of those, 435,719 are convicted criminals, and 226,847 have pending criminal charges and 13,099 are criminally convicted murders.
Once in the United States, individuals with criminal histories or criminal proclivities go anywhere they wish – even to very red and very conservative Utah County in the sanctuary state of Utah.
Just south of Salt Lake City, Utah County is the home of the city of Provo. A records request (separate from Rep. Gonzalez's request) for the number of individuals booked into the Utah County Jail with ICE holds from May 2021 to March 2024 revealed that there were 234 separate bookings of individuals with ICE holds during that time. (See the records provided by the Utah County Sheriff's Office at the end of this post.) These individuals were booked on charges ranging from operating a vehicle without a license or insurance (60) to manslaughter/murder (5). Perhaps most alarming was the prevalence of charges of crimes against children (50) including rape, sodomy, kidnapping, battery, exploitation, endangerment, etc. There were also 20 charges for domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Other serious charges included violations of protective orders (14), aggravated assault (51), weapons violations (14), witness tampering, obstruction of justice and failure to appear (8) , money laundering (7), identity theft and associated crimes (43), theft/burglary/financial fraud (40), driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance (46), drug related crimes including distribution/production of a controlled substance (38), and the possession of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia (95).
Individuals with ICE holds came from at least 19 different countries with the greatest number being from Mexico (122), Venezuela (18), Honduras (14), El Salvador (12), Chile (10) Guatemala (7), Columbia (7), Ecuador (5), and Romania (5). Other individuals with ICE holds came from Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Russia, Spain, and Tonga. Beginning in 2023, the number of Venezuelans with ICE holds has risen steadily.
Advocates for noncitizens will object to the publication of these figures because they will argue that this unfairly stigmatizes “migrants” and they will be quick to point out that during the same period American citizens were likely charged with even more of the same offenses. However, the fact is that had immigration laws been enforced, children who were victims of horrible, noncitizen sexual crimes would be leading a happy childhood, women who were raped by noncitizens would not be trying to recover from the harm inflicted on them, and individuals who were murdered by noncitizens would still be alive.
What the open border advocates won’t acknowledge is that when it comes to noncitizen crimes, it is a zero-sum game – if these noncitizens were not in the United States, the number of crimes they commit would be zero and there would be zero victims of their crimes.
The interesting thing is that in Utah County, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (Mormons) make up a substantial portion of the population and they are often among the strongest supporters of noncitizens. Over the years, State Senator Curt Bramble, who is from Utah County, was the driving force behind Utah’s groundbreaking Driving Privilege Card for illegal aliens and was the godfather of Utah’s immigration law that would provide legal status for individuals unlawfully in the United States if the state could obtain the federal waiver necessary for it to take force. When combined with in-state college tuition and health insurance for the children of illegal aliens, a gutting of Utah’s E-Verify law, and a wide range of other illegal-alien-friendly legislative actions, this makes Utah a magnet state for noncitizens and provides them with a place of sanctuary and refuge.
In summary, the key takeaways about noncitizen crimes in Utah County are:
- In Utah County, many innocent children are victims of horrendous sexual crimes that would never have occurred if the border and immigration laws had been enforced.
- Given the number of noncitizen criminals who have been released into the United States, Americans everywhere are at risk of becoming the victims of crimes that would never have occurred if immigration laws were enforced.
- When elected officials roll out the red carpet for noncitizens with criminal records, they are subjecting American citizens to extreme danger and should be forced to look into the eyes of the families whose loved ones are murdered, who die from illegal drugs trafficked by noncitizens, and to face the children who are victims of vicious sexual crimes that only occurred because of their misguided tolerance and blind compassion.
- Utah County is not unique. In fact, it is not even the prime destination for noncitizens. Therefore, if noncitizen crimes are occurring there, then it is safe to say that noncitizens are committing crimes at even higher levels in Salt Lake County in Utah and all over states with much higher numbers of noncitizens than Utah.
