SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Federal immigration arrests in Utah more than doubled in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to data provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Deportation Data Project.

That data shows ICE made about 1,100 arrests statewide in 2024. But between January and October 2025 alone, arrests climbed to more than 3,000.

The data offers a closer look at who is being detained and how immigration enforcement is playing out across the state.

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More than half — 55.5% — of those arrested had criminal convictions. About 27.4% had pending criminal charges but no convictions, while 17.2% had no criminal history and were detained solely for immigration violations.

Of the more than 3,000 people detained in 2025, roughly 72%, or just over 2,100 individuals, have already been deported.

In most cases, ICE detention began in local jails or state prisons, where inmates were held temporarily before being transferred to federal custody and removed from the country.

The average time between arrest and deportation in Utah was 26 days, according to the data. The shortest wait was one day for someone who had previously been deported, while the longest detention lasted 247 days, just over eight months.

Most ICE arrests in Utah do not happen in street operations. Instead, they typically involve people who are already incarcerated and turned over to federal authorities rather than being released back to the street. These are typically executed through Utah 287g agreements with ICE, called detention requests.

State data provided by the Utah Department of Corrections shows Utah, as of Jan 30, has 277 individuals in custody who indicated they were here illegally. 229 have ICE detention requests, meaning they will be transferred to ICE custody upon completion of their sentence.

According to the UDC, the daily incarceration rate is $156 and includes operational costs and medical costs. If all 277 illegal immigrant inmates currently in custody in the state served at least a one-year sentence, it would cost about $15.7 million in taxpayer dollars.

The ICE arrest data used in this report did not granularly break down what crimes arrested individuals were convicted of, and whether they were violent offences or not.

Of the 277 illegal immigrants in Utah’s jails and prisons, about 71% were convicted of 1st degree felonies, 22% were convicted of 2nd degree felonies, 6% were convicted of 3rd degree felonies, and less than 1% (2 people) were convicted of capital felonies.

According to new exclusive reporting out of CBS News, using data from the Department of Homeland Security, less than 14% of the illegal immigrants arrested by ICE nationwide had violent criminal offenses. The report states that nearly 60% of people arrested by ICE over the past year had criminal charges or convictions, but the majority of the criminal charges or convictions are not for violent crimes.

Here in Utah, among people already incarcerated in county jails, DUI offenses were the most common charge. For those in state prison, sexual abuse was the most frequent offense.

2News reached out to both the Governor and Lt. Governor for comment on the cost to imprison illegal immigrants at state and local facilities, but did not hear back. We also reached out to Sen. Dan McKay, the chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation committee, but he was not available for an interview.

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Traffic was stopped, but not for construction.

Police in Commerce City, Colorado, say they were just as surprised as motorists this week after a fire-juggling unicyclist turned a busy intersection into an impromptu street performance — a moment the department joked was “certainly not on our Bingo card.”

The Commerce City Police Department shared drone footage and photos of the unusual scene after receiving multiple calls from drivers who encountered the man juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle in traffic near U.S. 85 and 60th Avenue.

“This post was certainly not on our Bingo card, yet here we are,” the department wrote in a social media post. “The intersection of U.S.-85 and 60th isn’t exactly the Las Vegas Strip… or is it?”

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According to police, the performer rode through the median and crosswalk while traffic waited at the light, drawing both attention and concern from motorists.

“We got numerous calls the other day when drivers were treated to a little stoplight entertainment courtesy of this fire-juggling unicyclist,” police said.

Officers captured the scene using a drone, which showed the man balancing on the unicycle as flames flickered just feet from passing vehicles. While acknowledging the skill involved, saying it was “quite good,” police made clear the stunt crossed a legal line.

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“Our drone caught his act, which was both quite good and quite illegal,” the department wrote, citing trespassing in the median and impeding traffic by failing to clear the crosswalk in time.

Police said they regularly conduct enforcement efforts at the intersection to ensure pedestrians selling wares or services are not interfering with traffic, noting that reports like this are rare.

“We don’t often get reports like this anymore… well to be fair… we have NEVER gotten a report quite like this one,” the post said.

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The department ended its message on a lighthearted note, while still reminding the public that juggling fire in traffic is not encouraged.

“So let’s all take a moment to appreciate this man’s talents,” police wrote, before adding: “Then all agree that we aren’t going to do stuff like this. Mmkay?”