This is your daily news rundown for Friday, July 11. In this edition:
- 250 people are under evacuation orders for a new, quickly-spreading fire in southern Utah
- A third of recent ICE arrests in Utah were of people without criminal convictions or pending charges
- University of Utah is changing its logo to distinguish itself and avoid confusion
New fire burns 4,000 acres, prompts 250 people to evacuate
About 250 people have been evacuated as a new fire along the Utah-Colorado border spreads rapidly.
The Deer Creek Fire first sparked on Thursday near La Sal in San Juan County and has already burned over 4,000 acres as of Friday, destroying two homes, two secondary homes, and five outbuildings.
With 20 more homes currently threatened by the fire, residents within five miles of the fire or Mountain Shadow Estates have been advised to evacuate.
There’s no containment on the fire yet, with the hot, dry, and windy weather furthering fire dangers, but fire personnel are working to build firebreak lines.
A third of recent ICE arrests in Utah were of people without criminal convictions
Immigration agents in Utah have escalated the number of arrests of people with no criminal convictions or pending charges.
The latest data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, obtained by researchers at the University of California-Berkeley, shows that 35% of those arrested in Utah were not convicted or charged with a crime.
The Trump administration’s stated goal of increased arrests and deportations is to “target the worst of the worst — including gang members, murderers and rapists.”
Human rights organizations and groups like the National Immigrant Justice Center have condemned Trump’s immigration policies for issues like violating due process and racial profiling.
When Trump first took office in January, about 40% of ICE arrests in Utah were of people without criminal convictions or pending charges. It then dropped to almost 0% in March, then climbed back up before a large spike from May to June, from 10% to 35%.
That increase may be because of a mandate from the Trump administration in May for ICE agents to arrest 3,000 people per day.
In Utah, ICE agents arrested about 1,400 people between January 20 and June 10 — over double the amount from that same period last year.
U of U is changing its logo to avoid confusion with other institutions
The University of Utah is changing its logo from the signature block U to better differentiate itself and avoid confusion.
In an announcement of the change, the university said that the standalone U gets confused outside of Utah with other institutions like the University of Miami, also known as “the U,” and even brands like Unilever.
The new logo will have two interlocking Us with the full name spelled out below and will be used to promote the institution as a whole, including the health campus, academics, and athletics.
Secondary logos used by departments within the university, as well as functioning signage already in place on campus, will not change.
