Park City graduate detained by ICE days before University of Utah degree

Lisandro Pantaleon Pacheco was on his way to work in Park City on April 29 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the 22-year-old Park City High School graduate, turning a routine commute into a case that has rattled Summit County.

Pacheco had been expected to receive a bachelor’s degree in parks, recreation and tourism from the University of Utah during spring commencement events the next day. The university’s 2026 ceremony was scheduled for Thursday, April 30, at 6 p.m. at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, with graduates told to meet at the Central Garage and Rooftop Playfield by 4:30 p.m. Instead of lining up for the procession, Pacheco was in detention.

Family and friends described him as a quiet young man who focused on school and stayed tied to the Park City community after high school. He had come to the United States from Mexico when he was 1 year old, had no criminal record beyond one traffic citation, and was waiting for a DACA decision, according to the details shared by his family and local reports. ICE said Pacheco was not currently enrolled at the University of Utah and was not graduating.

Britney Xiques, who said she had been dating Pacheco for about two years, said he had bought an engagement ring and planned to propose. That detail, alongside the timing of the detention, has made the case resonate far beyond one family, especially for local students and mixed-status households that have long measured safety by school progress, steady work, and community ties.

The arrest lands in a county already grappling with immigration-enforcement anxiety. In February, Park City police said they are not federal officers and do not enforce federal immigration law. On May 5, Park City police and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said they do not share camera data with ICE, a response that followed growing concern over federal activity in the area.

Protests against ICE activity have also taken place in Park City and at the Interstate 80 overpass in Kimball Junction. For residents watching the case unfold, Pacheco’s detention has become a sharp reminder that even a familiar face, a local job, and nearly completed degree offered no guarantee of protection when federal agents moved in.