Sheriff’s Office Signs ICE MOU

MARCH 5, 2025|

Photo – CCSO badge with background of county map – Courtesy CCSO

The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office will execute federal immigration warrants for inmates at the county jail in the coming months.

During Tuesday’s Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff Alex Bakken asked the board to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Sheriff Bakken informed the board that the agreement will not change the way his department operates. The sheriff explained that ICE regularly checks the Carbon County Jail for inmates with immigration-related warrants. Under the current program, an ICE officer must be dispatched from Cheyenne to collect the prisoner.

Sheriff Bakken said the proposed memorandum of understanding will provide training for Carbon County Sheriff’s Deputies if they are called upon to execute ICE warrants.

Here’s how it would work. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may simply send a contractor to pick up the inmate, limiting the amount of time the offender spends in the county jail.

Sheriff Bakken is specifically referring to the ICE 287(g) program, which allows the federal agency to delegate limited immigration enforcement authority to state and local law enforcement officers.

At Tuesday’s county commissioner meeting, the sheriff stated the county will incur little to no cost by participating in the 287(g) training program.

Sheriff Bakken asked to clarify his department’s stance on immigration. The sheriff explained that he does not have the authority to make arrests based on a person’s citizenship. That power rests entirely within the federal government.

Sheriff Bakken asked residents to call him with any questions regarding immigration enforcement.

The board unanimously voted to allow Sheriff Bakken to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If you have any questions about how the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office handles citizenship cases, please call Sheriff Alex Bakken at 212-1355.