Judge orders release of immigrant detained in controversial arrest as Ogden officer looked on

OGDEN — The immigrant at the center of debate in Ogden after a federal immigration agent detained him — as an Ogden police officer looked on and as an Ogden City Council member recorded the encounter — has been released.

Sergio Garcia, the man's lawyer, said Thursday that a federal district court judge in California ordered his client's release on Wednesday in response to a habeas petition Garcia filed challenging his detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. He was being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, California.

"The judge ... basically agreed with us that he was being held unconstitutionally and ordered his release," Garcia said. "I was actually excited for him. I mean, his wife had been going through a hard time without him."

The man's Aug. 25 arrest by an ICE agent was the focus of intense debate in Ogden given the coincidental presence of an Ogden police officer, who had been on the scene responding to an unrelated call about an aggressive dog. The turn of events prompted debate in the city about the role Ogden officers should have, if any, in working with federal immigration agents.

"It's been rough on him," said Garcia, who discussed the man's case but didn't publicly name him. "I think he's going to be relieved that he doesn't have to defend his asylum case while in custody."

He now faces deportation, though, Garcia said, and will have to pursue his asylum case in federal immigration court, not the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. The man, who came to the United States from Venezuela in 2022, previously applied for asylum and had been granted a work permit as part of the process. Federal officials say he was in the country illegally.

The ICE agent was pursuing the Venezuelan man on an Ogden street the morning of Aug. 25 when an Ogden police officer who happened to be on the scene got caught in the middle. Both the ICE agent and the man, in his car making a food delivery, asked the officer for assistance, putting him in the awkward position of acting as their go-between.

City Councilman Kevin Lundell lives near the location and also happened upon the scene, filming part of the encounter with the camera on his phone. Lundell's footage was later publicly posted to social media, and the Ogden Police Department released body camera footage of the incident from the officer on the scene.

The turn of events led to intense debate among city officials at a Sept. 1 Ogden City Council meeting about how local officers should interact with federal immigration agents in such circumstances. Some critics viewed the officer as assisting the ICE agent while others defended him, saying he did the best he could in a difficult situation.

Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski said at the time that discussion was afoot on tweaking police policy related to interactions with immigration authorities, though he didn't offer specifics.

Garcia isn't sure what triggered immigration authorities to go after his client. He maintains they had no reason to detain the man.

"I don't know how they tracked him. We don't have that information as to how they found out who he was or why they even attempted to make contact with him," he said.

Federal officials didn't respond to a query Thursday seeking comment.

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