ICE agents in Pinedale for July operations

PINEDALE — Every morning this week, usually around 4 a.m., more than a dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, or ICE, gathered beneath a light outside of a Pinedale hotel to review paperwork. Wearing casual clothes, they then loaded their duffle bags into unmarked SUVs and left the parking lot headed northbound on HWY-191 toward Jackson, 77 miles away. Approximately 14 agents are staying in Pinedale while they operate in neighboring Teton and Lincoln counties this week, taking at least 4 people into custody on “ICE holds” from July 21-22. Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr confirmed to the Jackson Hole News&Guide on July 22 that his office was notified the morning of July 21 that agents from the ICE field office in Casper would be operating in both Lincoln and Teton counties. Carr said agents were directed to pick up individuals with ICE holds in local jails and to specifically target others in the area.
Despite rumors that some restaurant workers in Sublette County were taken into custody by ICE, there is no evidence to suggest that agents are doing anything more than basing their operations in Pinedale while traveling to nearby counties to conduct enforcement activities there. Sublette County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Travis Bingham told the Pinedale Roundup on July 22 that he “cannot confirm any known operations in Sublette County as none were reported to us directly.” Lt. Bingham said ICE has notified the SCSO of operations in the past, adding, “Our process has always been to do a status check on anyone foreign-born.”

Six guests of the hotel, staying long-term while working locally, spoke to the Pinedale Roundup on the condition of anonymity due to fears that they might lose their temporary housing while working here. The Roundup agreed not to print their real names. In interviews conducted Monday evening, sources explained the ICE agents arrived at the hotel on Sunday, July 20. That night, they met outside on the south side of the building next to a trash can, where witnesses said they observed the agents rifling through documents. “They had a box. They took out paperwork and handed it out to every single one of them. It looked like they were looking for certain immigrants. They have flyers with people’s faces on them,” Jose Ramirez told the Roundup.

“We heard them say they are here for six days,” Victor Cantu said in the July 21 interview.

Two of the Jackson men taken on ICE holds were initially booked into the Teton County Jail following DUI arrests on July 19, the News&Guide reported. They were transferred into ICE custody and booked into the Sweetwater County Jail, 178 miles away, on July 21, records show.

A third man detained in Jackson was not charged with any state crimes as of press time; the reason for his detainment is unclear.

Elisabeth Trefonas, an immigration attorney in Jackson, explained, “Undocumented immigrants have not committed a crime simply by virtue of being undocumented or for having their previous lawful status expire and remaining in the United States — they have committed an administrative law violation,” because The Immigration and Nationality Act, which regulates legal immigration, penalties for unlawful immigration and the immigration courts, is an Administrative Act. Trefonas said this is distinguishable from immigrants who have been formally removed from the United States, who unlawfully reenter and could be prosecuted under the United States Federal Code for “illegal reentry,” which is a crime that proceeds in federal courts. She noted in these cases, enforcement is generally done by U.S. Marshals who have a signed federal warrant.
Wyoming Immigrant Advocacy Project Founder Rosie Read recently told the News&Guide that anxieties have been running high in the immigrant community, as President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on enforcement and the Wyoming Legislature passes laws targeting undocumented immigrants in the Equality State.

The most recent law that went into effect July 1 voids out-of-state driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants driving in Wyoming, despite the cards being legally issued by other states and jurisdictions.