Two Utah Court Clerks Charged With Helping Illegal Immigrants Evade ICE Arrest

On April 9, an ICE agent arrived at the Logan City Municipal Justice Court in Utah with an administrative warrant to arrest an undocumented individual. According to court documents, Joma and Morrow learned of the agent's presence and began searching court databases to identify non-citizens on the docket, then intercepted the ICE target along with two other individuals — one from Guatemala and one from Mexico — and escorted them through back hallways and out a rear exit. Surveillance footage captured the two clerks waving and smiling at a camera, with Morrow making an obscene gesture, after the migrants had been moved. Joma then drove three of the migrants away from the courthouse in her personal vehicle before returning to work alone. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison for the conspiracy, harboring, and obstruction counts, plus an additional five years for Joma's transporting charge. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated the administration has 'zero tolerance' for such conduct, and former U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber described the case as unprecedented in the state. The incident follows the conviction of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan for felony obstruction in a similar case, and a prior Massachusetts case involving a judge and court officer whose charges were eventually dropped.