Gov. Cox urges prompt removal of ICE director in Salt Lake City on letter

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Gov. Spencer Cox signed a letter making several requests for the upcoming Trump administration — one of which calls for the immediate removal of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director in Salt Lake City.

The letter was penned by Cox and several Utah sheriffs and was addressed to Gov. Kristi Noem, the nominated secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Tom Homan, the border czar.

The joint letter made three requests: more funding for jail beds and transportation, the suspension of “unreasonable detention standards,” and the immediate removal of Michael Bernacke from the ICE Salt Lake City Field Office.

The letter comes after Cox declared his support for President-elect Donald Trump’s deportation calls on several occasions, pledging to work with the new administration to deport immigrants who have committed crimes in Utah.

During a conference in December, Cox expressed frustration with the local ICE field office, claiming mass deportation is highly unlikely as ICE is too “broken” to even deport 100 serious criminals from this state.

ABC4 reached out to ICE regarding the letter. The agency did not wish to comment as the letter was not addressed to them.

Removal of ICE director

Michael Bernacke is the ICE director for enforcement and removal operations in Salt Lake City and has a history of conflict with Utah officials.

The letter specifically mentions the time Bernacke’s office allegedly sent an accidental memo saying Utah was a sanctuary state, which caused a “public spectacle distracting from the very real problems of housing detainees.”

In a previous statement, Cox said ICE had sent immigrants to Utah without the immigrants requesting to come to this state. ICE responded to an ABC4 request for comment at the time saying it does not move migrants.

“We have been deeply frustrated over an extended period of time with Mr. Bernacke’s lack of leadership and resistance to solutions,” the letter reads. “In short Mr. Bernacke no longer has any credibility or good faith with the Cox Administration or the larger Utah law enforcement community.”

Suspension of ‘unreasonable’ standards

The letter also requests the suspension or altering of “unreasonable detention standards that are complicating our counties’ ability to hold ICE detainees.”

In particular, local leaders want permission to use state and county-owned facilities to hold detainees before transferring them to a contracted federal jail or deporting them from the country.

“Our county jails meet strict state requirements, and we would strongly encourage your department to adopt the detention standards of the U.S. Marshals or defer to our state standards, especially in a crisis where the absolute imperative should be public safety,” the letter says.

Funding for jail beds

The final request is for funding for jail beds and transportation, as the letter claims there are only 40 beds in Las Vegas allotted to the Salt Lake City Field Office, which covers Utah, Nevada, Montana, and Idaho.

“We need additional funding for jail beds and transportation that will allow us to work with your teams to quickly deport those who pose a threat to public safety,” the letter said.