Several county sheriff’s offices and the Wyoming Highway Patrol did not get permission from their county commissions or conduct public comment periods before they signed agreements with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide jail space and sometimes assign local law officers for immigration enforcement. That’s according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wyoming, which recently filed records requests with law enforcement agencies with active ICE agreements in Wyoming.
According to the ACLU, Campbell, Hot Springs, Lincoln and Natrona are each providing immigration enforcement to ICE but didn’t ask residents or their county commissioners for approval first. The same is true for the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
The ACLU’s Janna Farley said such approvals are required by law under the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act.
Of the eight Wyoming counties with ICE agreements, Crook County’s commission had previously signed an authorization back in 1998 to broadly cooperate with other law enforcement agencies.
In 2025, Carbon County’s commission signed its approval, allowing Sheriff Alex Bakken to sign ICE agreements. The ACLU’s Janna Farley said it’s unclear whether a public comment period was provided before that approval.
Sweetwater County’s commissioners approved their ICE agreements retroactively in 2025. Sheriff John Grossnickle originally signed agreements with ICE back in 2020, without a public comment period, according to the ACLU of Wyoming.
A number of municipal police departments have also signed agreements with ICE, including Wheatland, Shoshoni, Pine Bluffs and Moorcroft.
Wyoming Public Media and KHOL in Jackson reached out to the county law enforcement agencies for comment.
Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny said through an email from an office spokesperson, “Allegations in a press release are not judicial determinations. We have no interest in litigating legal arguments through the media. Those issues belong before the courts, not in competing press releases.”
Sheriffs for Hot Springs, Lincoln, Natrona, Carbon, Crook and Sweetwater counties did not respond to email requests to confirm or correct the ACLU’s claims.
Farley said the concern is that the democratic process hasn’t been adhered to.
“Local law enforcement is supposed to be focused on local issues. Law enforcement agencies have different jurisdictions, and by entering into 287(g) agreements and essentially having their local law enforcement officers acting as ICE agents, it changes how the local law enforcement interacts with your community,” Farley said.
Farley said if immigrant residents don’t trust local law enforcement, they’re less likely to call for help, and that could affect the public safety of the whole community.
“Research has shown that if there’s distrust or fear about law enforcement in a community, people might be less apt to report crimes that our local law enforcement should be taking care of in our local communities. Because these 287 agreements fundamentally change what local law enforcement agencies are doing and how they act in their communities, it’s imperative the community has a say in what happens,” she said.
The ACLU of Wyoming is currently in litigation with the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office over its three ICE agreements, alleging in June that Sheriff Brian Kozak failed to seek the county commission’s approval or offer a public comment period before signing them. A hearing to dismiss the case is scheduled for Monday, July 27 at 10 a.m. in Cheyenne.
According to recent data by the research firm Relevant Research, 1,423 people have been arrested for immigration violations in Wyoming since October 2022. There are currently 53 people held in detention in county jails for immigration violations. Of those, 16 are considered criminals. The other 37 do not have criminal charges against them.
