Lazoz de Cache Valley (formerly Raíces) was created in September of 2025 as a grassroots advocacy effort in response to the government’s mass deportation project. Our initial intention was to foster safe spaces and informational gatherings for the Hispanic residents of Cache Valley, but as targeted violence across the country escalated, we quickly pivoted to address the urgent needs of families in the midst of forced separation.
While we focus on crisis prevention through recurring Emergency Preparedness workshops and Know Your Rights trainings, we are outpaced by federal agents who are undertrained, overpaid, incentivized to issue removal orders indiscriminately.
The reality of this massive project caught up with us: information and knowledge cannot contend with unconstitutional violence, so we assembled a team of trusted attorneys, we made connections with other grassroots and non-profit organizations across the state, and we were issued our 501(c)(3) status in June of 2026.
Today, Lazoz offers legal resources, educational content, mutual aid, and community-based support for Hispanic immigrants in Northern Utah, regardless of legal status or criminal record.
This was never about criminality. The number of convicted criminals with removal orders is highly disproportionate to the number of deportations we are seeing, and our regional data supports this. Although these arrests have not always escalated into violence, the numbers tell violent stories.
Just in 2026, Lazoz has witnessed the extent to which this abuse of authority is ongoing in Cache Valley: Bernardo noticed that the police car had been following him for 10 minutes, waiting to pull him over; Rafael had a warrant for his arrest over an alleged driving infraction, but the person in the police footage was not him; Maria noticed the unmarked vehicle sitting outside her house for days, studying her habits until they could detain her. None of these neighbors had any criminal charges, and yet their families have been harassed and forced to make impossible decisions.
This kind of harassment is racial profiling. While we have not observed an increase in crime or in deportation of convicted criminals in our data, we have observed federal agents waiting outside the court on days where a Spanish interpreter is present. As neighbors arrive at court to settle traffic tickets and other petty citations, unmarked ICE vehicles intimidate and intercept our community members.
Despite ongoing conversations between the community, the Logan Police Department, and the Cache County Sheriff’s office, we continue to see egregious violations of people’s constitutional right to due process.
In general, the number of convicted criminals detained by ICE has stayed consistent since 2022.
Note on the deportation process: a convicted criminal is someone who was charged with a criminal conviction and is in the process of serving time in jail. ICE issues a “detainer” to county jails to slow the release process of certain individuals; this is to allow ICE enough time to arrive at jail to detain the individual.
The number of detainers issued for people with criminal charges has increased from 3 in 2022 to 53 in 2025.
Note on criminal charges: to be charged with a criminal infraction amounts to a formal accusation, which gives ICE permission to file for removal. However, a “criminal charge” might constitute petty crimes such as driving with a broken taillight.
So far in 2026, ICE Ogden made 111 community arrests, meaning these arrests happened outside of jail. The majority (56%) of those arrested had no criminal conviction, and 73% of those with no criminal conviction had no criminal charges at all.
Note on criminality: “racial profiling” violates the 14th Amendment because it eliminates people’s right to due process.
Along with the exponential increase of unlawful forced removals and the reduced oversight of federal agencies, we have also witnessed an increase in unethical behavior from law practitioners. Greedy lawyers are scamming our neighbors into paying thousands of dollars for services that usually cost around $300. These bad-faith actors use misinformation to not only take advantage of our neighbors financially, but also to instill fear, hopelessness, and apathy in an otherwise vibrant community.