Utah Hive Politics logoUtah Hive Politicsfrom the publisher of The Weber County HiveThe people's publication. We investigate what's best for the public as a whole, not any party or special interest.
← All Unelected Power pages  ·  Hive library ↗

Plain words · UP 200.04

The Ogden Officer and the ICE Agent, in plain words

The short, simple version of the Hive's case file.

Posted Oct. 27, 2026

WHERE
22nd St. and Porter Ave., Ogden · Ogden City · Weber County · Utah
WHO
  • The Ogden officer — A city police officer. Not elected
  • The ICE agent — A federal immigration agent. Works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, not Ogden
  • "Jonathan" — The man ICE detained. Whether he is here legally is disputed
  • Mayor Ben Nadolski — Elected. Picks the police chief
  • Police Chief Jake Sube — Picked by the mayor. Writes the police rulebook
  • Ogden City Council — Elected. Council members Kevin Lundell and Alicia Washington spoke up
Want every detail and source? Read the full case file
Unelected Power pages (tap to open)
  1. Unelected Power rosterEvery case file, searchable
  2. The Inland Port at the LegislatureHearing claims checked against the record
  3. Steve WaldripGovernor's Office · State Housing Coordinator
  4. Mike OstermillerMIDA Board · CEO, Northern Wasatch Realtors
  5. Chris KylerCEO, Utah Association of Realtors
  6. Dallin KoecherWasatch Open Lands Board · Heber Valley Chamber
  7. Matt BrowerHeber City Manager · Hired, Not Elected
  8. Ryan StarksEDCUtah · Former GOEO Director
  9. Chris RoybalPresident, Northern Utah Economic Alliance
  10. Laura WarburtonUtah Forward PAC · Keep Our Valley Free
  11. Jefferson MossGOEO · Former House Majority Leader
  12. Community Alliance for Main StreetOrganization · Sole-Source City Contract
  13. Dan HemmertExecutive Director, MIDA · Former State Senator
  14. Utah RisingOrganization · Chamber-Led Economic Initiative
  15. EDCUtahOrganization · Private Business Recruiter
  16. The Ogden Officer & The ICE AgentOgden PD · Federal ICE Agent
  17. The Ogden Officer and the ICE Agent, in plain wordsThe short, simple version
  18. Jed StevensonAcademica West · One West Construction
Aug. 25, 2026the arrest
Nonewritten OPD policy on ICE, as of Sept. 17, 2026
March 6, 2026H.B. 571 filed as not passed

What this is

On Aug. 25, 2026, an ICE agent detained a man in Ogden, near 22nd St. and Porter Ave. An Ogden police officer was there. The man is called "Jonathan" on the video.

Only two people made decisions in that moment: the officer and the ICE agent. Nobody voted for either one. The people Ogden does vote for, the mayor and the city council, were not there. They spent the next weeks answering questions about it.

What the records show

What OPD says. The police department says the ICE agent first asked the officer to pull the man over, the officer said no, and the agent drove off. That story comes from OPD itself, as told to KUTV. It is not confirmed anywhere else, and it is not in the body-camera video the Hive reviewed.

What the video shows. The officer walks over to the ICE agent's car on his own. He asks the agent if he has "a reason to stop them." He says he will stay "and make sure that [nothing goes south]... but I can't help." Then the agent detains the man.

Two different stories about Jonathan. DHS told reporters he is "an immigrant in the country illegally from Venezuela." On camera, Jonathan said he was here legally and had been working, delivering food. No court record settles it.

What the city said. On Aug. 26, OPD said it "did not initiate the stop, did not conduct the arrest, did not ask for or run any information, and did not assist with immigration enforcement." At a Sept. 1 council meeting, Councilwoman Alicia Washington asked for a full review. In September, the mayor and chief said a written ICE policy was "potentially" coming, with no timeline.

What state law says. A Utah law, §76-14-205, says a city may not adopt a rule that stops its police from working with federal immigration agents. It does not make any officer help. A 2026 bill, H.B. 571 by Rep. Trevor Lee, would have made police actively help, with civil fines up to $5,000 against individual officials. It never got a hearing and was filed as not passed on March 6, 2026.

A different choice nearby. Weber County's sheriff, who is elected, signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE. That is a choice he made, not one the state law required.

What isn't known yet

Whether the officer really said no before the video starts. Whether Jonathan is here legally. When, or if, Ogden will write an ICE policy. The full case file also points out that the city has not published a simple explainer of what the law already allows, and that nothing in the law appears to stop it.

Why it matters to you

The people we vote for are not always the people making the decisions that affect us. Here, the choices on the street were made by people no Ogden voter can reach.

Connecting stories

Sources

Sources — click to open (with links)
  • Officer's body-worn camera footage, as posted by OPD and independently reviewed by the Hive
  • KUTV, "Ogden police say video circulating of ICE arrest 'does not provide full context'"
  • Standard-Examiner, "Policy perspective: Ogden mayor, police chief discuss demand related to ICE activity" (Sept. 17, 2026)
  • H.B. 571, "Immigrant Amendments," 2026 General Session, le.utah.gov
  • Every source, with links, is in the full case file.
Want the full details? Read the full case file → It has every record, the sources and questions to ask.
Utah Hive Politicsfrom the publisher of The Weber County HiveIndependent · Accountability · Journalism

The Weber County Hive and Utah Hive Politics: the people's publication. We investigate what's best for the public as a whole, not for any party or special interest group. We report public records. You decide.

Send a tipTips we checkedSee a mistake? Tell us

We never name tipsters. When we correct a page, the fix and its date are shown on the page.

Unelected Power shelf · Master Index (Hive library) · Read on Substack