ICE conducts targeted operation in Park City, sparks local concern

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out a targeted operation in Park City on April 29, prompting concern in a community that depends heavily on a mobile workforce and daily cross-county travel. Summit County dispatch was notified before the operation, but Park City Police Lt. Danielle Snelson said the department was not asked to assist.

By 9:30 a.m., ICE agents said they had finished and left Summit County. A bystander video showed what appeared to be federal agents around a car at the eastbound on-ramp from State Route 248 to U.S. Highway 40, one of the city’s most visible traffic chokepoints. The Wasatch Latino Coalition said it received reports that ICE stopped cars in both Park City and Heber, including accounts involving high school students in Wasatch County.

Heber City Police Chief Parker Sever said ICE did not notify his department about any operations in his jurisdiction. He also said the federal action was targeted at specific individuals. The Heber response added to questions that have circulated since an ICE operation on April 21, when police said they had not been notified ahead of time and were not involved. During that Heber operation, officers said no one had been brought or booked into the county jail, while The Park Record reported at least four people were arrested.

The Park City School District moved quickly to address families’ fears. District leaders held internal meetings about student-safety policies and sent parents an email acknowledging ICE activity in the community. The district said it does not collect or keep immigration-status information and will not release a student to federal immigration authorities without a valid judicial warrant.

Immigration experts cited by KPCW said residents do not have to open the door, answer questions, or sign documents if immigration agents ask, and that agents cannot enter homes or search belongings without a judge-signed warrant. For employers, schools, and families across Park City and Summit County, the immediate issue is not only enforcement itself but the uncertainty that follows when federal agents move through school commute routes, resort corridors, and neighborhood streets with little public notice.