Utah Clerks Charged in Alleged ICE Evasion Plot

Utah Clerks Charged in Alleged ICE Evasion Plot

Two former Utah court clerks have been arrested and charged after federal prosecutors alleged they used their positions inside a courthouse to help an illegal immigrant avoid a lawful arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday charges Jennifer Joma, 27, and Lauren Kelsey Morrow, 26, with conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens, and obstruction of proceedings before federal agencies. Joma also faces a separate charge of transporting illegal aliens.

The incident occurred on April 9 at the Logan City Municipal Justice Court in Utah, where both women worked as court clerks. An ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer entered the courthouse to arrest an illegal immigrant who was scheduled to appear for a hearing that day. After entering the courthouse, the officer left the secure area and waited in his car outside for his target to exit before attempting the arrest.

After learning an ICE officer was present, Joma and Morrow allegedly used court databases to identify the agency’s target and determine the citizenship status of individuals listed on the court docket. The two women identified multiple non-U.S. citizens and intercepted several of them before they exited the courthouse.

Court documents show the clerks then led the ICE target, identified as a Guatemalan citizen, and other illegal immigrants, including a Mexican national, through secure hallways and out a maintenance door at the back of the courthouse, out of sight of the ICE officer and other court staff. Court documents also allege that another, unnamed courthouse employee shut the judge’s door during the incident, further obstructing his view, though only Joma and Morrow have been charged. 

The Justice Department described the alleged conduct in blunt terms:

“This case is about some state court clerks who abused their position of trust and took the law into their own hands by helping an illegal alien evade a lawful arrest by ICE.” 

Federal prosecutors further alleged:

“Acting as self-appointed anti-ICE vigilantes, Lauren Morrow, her co-defendant Joma and others took it upon themselves to obstruct immigration proceedings and the lawful enforcement of United States immigration laws.” 

The indictment states that surveillance footage captured the pair after one of the alleged trips through the courthouse. Prosecutors say the women were seen waving and smiling at a security camera, while Morrow allegedly made an obscene gesture toward it. Investigators also allege that Joma later drove three illegal immigrants away from the courthouse before returning to work.

The charges carry significant exposure: each of the conspiracy, harboring, and obstruction counts carries up to ten years in prison, while the transporting count Joma faces carries up to five years, for a combined statutory maximum of 25 years for Joma and 20 for Morrow. Local reporting indicates both women had previously resigned from their positions following the incident. 

The smiling and the middle finger at the surveillance camera say everything about how seriously these two took their oaths of office.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah announced the arrests Wednesday. The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and has been designated part of Operation Take Back America, the DOJ’s nationwide initiative targeting illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.

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