If Utah National Guard troops are to aid in the federal government’s immigration crackdown, they won’t be involved in detaining suspected immigrants in the country illegally.
They could take some sort of role, though, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said one possibility would be helping federal immigration officials with transportation.
“Our National Guard will not be putting hands on people, will not be arresting people. That is not the role of the National Guard, and we would not allow that to happen,” he told reporters Thursday at his monthly press conference.
Several sheriff’s offices across Utah have entered into formal agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to aid in efforts to identify immigrants in the country illegally, a priority for President Donald Trump. What’s more, the Christian Science Monitor, citing Pentagon sources, reported earlier this month that Utah is one of 20 states that have agreed to let National Guard troops assist immigration officials in their push to detain and deport immigrations in the country illegally.
Indeed, Cox said Utah representatives are in “active communication” with federal officials on the issue, like officials in many states, and that more details on possible cooperative efforts should be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
If Utah National Guard troops do help, though, transportation of detainees could be one possible role since the state isn’t home to a dedicated facility to hold immigrants. “Transportation takes a lot of time and effort away from (the Department of) Homeland Security and their ability to do their jobs, processing paperwork and those types of things. ... We’ve offered to help there,” he said.
Whatever role it takes, if any, Cox said the feds would have to cover the cost of tapping the help of the Utah National Guard.
Related to that, the governor was noncommittal on the possibility of deploying National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to aid in Trump’s crime-fighting efforts in the U.S. capital. Other states have sent troops, but Cox said he’d first need to see the details of any request before committing. “I would have to see what that looks like,” he said.
Cox also fielded a question on the notion of state legislation requiring would-be voters to supply documentation proving they are U.S. citizens when registering to vote. Utah Rep. Karianne Lisonbee said earlier this week that she is working on such a proposal as a safeguard to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots, citing two instances of noncitizens registering to vote in the state.
It’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in Utah elections, Cox said, “and we want to make sure that we have processes in place to prevent that from happening.” However, while acknowledging that “discussions are happening on the issue,” he didn’t offer a position on the possibility.
If noncitizens do vote, those cases “should be prosecuted, and so we’ll be working with county attorneys on that,” he said. “We’re constantly looking to update our voting laws to make sure that we’re protecting people and protecting the sanctity of those voter rolls.”
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