Two former Utah state court clerks, Jennifer Joma, 27, and Lauren Kelsey Morrow, 26, were arrested after federal prosecutors alleged they helped undocumented migrants avoid an ICE arrest at the Logan City Municipal Justice Court in Utah. The indictment was filed on June 3, 2026, and unsealed on June 10, 2026.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, the incident happened on April 9, 2026, when an ICE Enforcement and Removal Officer arrived at the courthouse to arrest a person who was there for a court hearing. Prosecutors said the officer had an administrative warrant and waited outside the courthouse after being asked not to make the arrest inside the courtroom.
Court documents allege that Joma and Morrow used court databases to check the backgrounds and immigration-related information of people listed on the court docket. Prosecutors claim they then guided several non-citizens through secure hallways and out a back door so ICE officers could not see them leave.
Federal officials also alleged that Joma drove three people away from the courthouse in her car before later returning to work. Surveillance footage reportedly showed the two clerks waving and smiling at a camera after helping one person leave through the back of the courthouse.
Both women face charges including conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens, and obstruction of proceedings before federal agencies. Joma faces an additional charge of transporting illegal aliens. Prosecutors emphasized that an indictment is only an allegation, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
