The forceful arrest Wednesday at Salt Lake City International Airport of a woman facing deportation is prompting consternation among some city leaders.
“There is so much about ICE operations that create a sense of fear, and we know we’ll likely never receive answers to our many questions that surround them,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement Thursday. “What I do know is that nothing about this incident, like so many ICE operations, makes me feel safer as an American.”
A video showing the woman struggling with the agents arresting her was posted to social media on Thursday. Some posted about how emotionally disturbing it was to view the arrest, either in person or by watching the video.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, meanwhile, issued a statement identifying the woman detained as Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, 39. She’s “an illegal alien” from El Salvador who entered the country in 2007, the agency said in a statement, and is subject to a deportation order issued in absentia on Feb. 19, 2020.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is executing its mission of identifying and removing criminal aliens and others who have violated our nation’s immigration laws. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality,” reads the statement from the agency.
The 29-second video, posted to Bluesky and Instagram, shows Renderos being held by a man on each side of her as she is removed from a public area of the airport, accompanied by two other men. All four of the men are dressed in plain clothes. As the incident unfolds, a man with a uniform reading “Police” on the back looks on, like other airport patrons, but doesn’t intervene.
The woman, much smaller than the men, screams and struggles as events unfold — “Help me ... Help me, please,” she says — while the woman filming the incident makes a plea for sympathy. “Have mercy on her. She’s a human being,” she says.
Immigration officials didn’t provide additional information about the incident, but it comes amid the ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration pursued by the administration of President Donald Trump. Similar incidents — detention of people suspected of being in the country illegally — have been captured on video around the country and publicly posted, also prompting strong responses, both for and against.
Salt Lake City leaders, for their part, were critical.
“Incidents like this create fear and uncertainty in our community,” reads a statement issued by the Salt Lake City Council. “The operation was not coordinated with or directed by Salt Lake City police. We have requested additional information from federal agencies in the interest of promoting transparency, accountability and the well-being of all who live in and visit our city.”
Mendenhall said the incident, for her, raises questions.
“In this case, for example, why were the agents in plain clothes without visible identification? Why did they choose the lobby of the airport — the gateway to our state — where some 28,000 people enter every day?” she said in her statement.
The detention occurred in the “pre-security area” of the airport, which Mendenhall said is considered public space, and Salt Lake police were not involved.
“A Salt Lake City police officer was present after initially responding to what appeared to be a commotion in the terminal. Upon arriving, the responding Salt Lake City police officer requested and visually confirmed the agents’ federal identification,” Mendenhall said. “Local law enforcement is prohibited by federal law from interfering in federal immigration enforcement efforts.”
The city seeks more information about what happened, said Mendenhall, who also reiterated that immigration status doesn’t figure in how city officers respond to situations. Salt Lake police don’t “screen for immigration status when placing a person under arrest,” she said.
Contributing: Carter Williams