Ogden Utah — At a Tuesday City Council meeting, Councilwoman Alicia Washington and Councilman Kevin Lundell said they will press for inspections and a review of the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office amid public complaints. The push follows a long stream of critical comments at the meeting and claims from community members and activists that the site is operating outside its conditional use permit. they will consider a special follow-up session and inspections after the meeting ran past 9: 00 p. m. ET.
Ogden Utah: Permit questions and data
Council members and residents raised narrow, permit-focused concerns tied to the office’s long-standing conditional use permit, first referenced in planning records dating back to a staff report dated June 21, 2000. Activist Thor Dorosh, an Ogden resident, said planning commission documents show the permit limited housing of individuals beyond 5: 00 p. m. and expected normal hours to be between 7: 00 a. m. and 4: 00 p. m., with only occasional exceptions. Dorosh pointed to detention data that shows increased book-ins between Jan. 21, 2025 and Oct. 15, 2025 and questioned whether the facility has held people overnight on multiple occasions.
Thor Dorosh said the facility was not meant to be used as it is being currently used and cited material indicating overnight holds and book-ins outside typical hours. Dorosh and other activists have planned to raise the permit issue at the March 24 city council meeting. City spokesperson Mike McBride said Ogden City is not aware of any conditional use permit violations, and Mara Brown, chief administrative officer for the mayor, said the charges have not been substantiated by verified data and that ICE representatives told city officials detainees are not held overnight.
Immediate reactions from officials and residents
Councilwoman Alicia Washington said, “So what are we doing as a council? We are oversight. We are the legislative branch. ” Councilman Kevin Lundell pressed the administration for answers: “I believe we need more of an explanation from the administration about how, because the data did show us pretty distinctly that there were violations. ” Lundell added that he has requested a fire inspection and asked to accompany inspectors to the site.
Councilman Ken Richey acknowledged public passion and noted a range of community views, saying he has also heard from residents who support ICE activity and stressing the city must abide by the law. West Haven resident David Belnap told the council the debate is fundamentally about treatment of people in the community. Public commenters included teachers and parents describing fear and concern over local enforcement actions; one speaker warned of possible uses of detention facilities in the region.
What’s next
Council members voted to schedule further discussion and a special closed meeting next week to consider follow-up steps and possible inspections after the public session that ran past 9: 00 p. m. ET. that if code enforcement finds a violation, the typical next steps are to require remedies and, if necessary, bring the planning commission into consideration of permit revocation. Activists and residents plan to press the March 24 city council meeting on the permit question, and council members said they will seek additional clarification from the mayor’s administration and city inspectors before any final action in Ogden Utah.
