Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced a state initiative last month to support the incoming Trump administration's efforts to deport undocumented immigrants. He expanded on this announcement at his monthly news conference on Thursday, Dec. 19, emphasizing that he had received significant support from the Latino community.
“Actually, it's the Latino community that's been asking for this," Cox said. "We saw a big change this election … and we’re getting a tremendous amount of support from the Latino community to get those who are committing crimes and deport them back to their country of origin.”
The governor also highlighted broader concerns about border security, claiming that dangerous individuals from regions like the Middle East and China have exploited weaknesses in immigration enforcement.
“And so this isn’t just about the Latino community," he said. "It is about law and order.”
Cox framed the initiative as a matter of public safety and bipartisan consensus, claiming that his friends on the left have been saying the same thing. He repeatedly stated that specific plans have yet to be finalized, pending the confirmation of Kristi Noem as a key member of the Trump administration.
“This is something we’ve been wanting to do for years," Cox explained. "We just haven’t had an administration or an ICE leadership that has been willing to do the hard work that needs to be done.”
The governor expressed frustration with ICE, stating that — for years — ICE has claimed to not have the resources to do anything about the backlog of immigrants in jails across the state. Because of this, Cox explained that the Department of Protective Services would be the ones overseeing deportations.
And when asked what this would look like for the average immigrant, Cox was very clear.
“It looks like, if you commit a crime, we send you out," he said. "I don't care if [it's] violent or non-violent. You should not be here.”
The governor reiterated that being undocumented is in itself a crime, but that undocumented immigrants were not the state’s first priority.
Cox also expressed doubt in the “mass deportations” that President-elect Trump has repeatedly claimed will happen, and said that he would circle back to that conversation once a real plan was in place.
“I don't see any scenario under which 20 million people can be deported," he said. "That's just not logistically possible right now when we can't even deport somebody breaking the law down the street.”
