The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office ranked first among all state and local law enforcement agencies certified to carry out immigration enforcement during a week-long operation last month, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
What Happened
Between April 17 and 23, Laramie County deputies made 53 immigration arrests through the office’s Task Force Model agreement with ICE — more than any other local or state agency in the country during that period. Florida Highway Patrol came in second with 31 arrests, followed by Oklahoma’s Department of Public Safety with 27, ICE confirmed.
Forty-six of those arrests were tied to a traffic enforcement operation that Sheriff Brian Kozak publicized in a Facebook video on April 25, which he dubbed “Truck Around Find Out, Operation Spring Break.” The operation focused on commercial trucking violations, including drivers operating without proper commercial licenses, trucks with unsafe conditions such as bald tires, and carriers whose operating authority had been revoked or suspended.
“Many of these folks are operating without commercial driver’s licenses, unsafe trucks, bald tires,” Kozak said in the video, which showed the sheriff in uniform and a cowboy hat seated in a patrol vehicle. “Their trucking companies have been revoked or suspended and shouldn’t be operating at all.”
By the Numbers
- 53 total immigration arrests by Laramie County during the April 17–23 window
- 46 of those arrests stemmed from the publicized trucking operation
- 40 individuals were processed directly at a federal facility, bypassing county booking
- 6 individuals were booked into the Laramie County Detention Center
- 3 of those had local charges or prior misdemeanors on record
Sheriff’s Message
Kozak used the operation’s results to send a pointed message about law enforcement expectations in Wyoming. “Welcome to Wyoming. We want you to come. We want you to have fun, experience the cowboy culture,” he said in the video. “But if you’re going to come here to break the law, or you’re breaking the laws of our country, then turn around and go right back where you came from.”
Undersheriff Chance Walkama confirmed the breakdown of arrests in a written statement, noting that ICE handled the bulk of processing at a federal facility to streamline the operation.
Zoom Out
The operation reflects a broader trend of local and state law enforcement agencies in conservative-led states ramping up participation in federal immigration enforcement programs. Wyoming’s cooperation with ICE has grown more visible in recent months as the Trump administration has prioritized interior enforcement alongside increased scrutiny of foreign visitors to federal landmarks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
ICE did not clarify whether Laramie County’s arrest numbers frequently rank among the highest in the country, leaving open questions about whether last month’s figures were a one-time surge tied to the operation or part of an ongoing pattern.
What’s Next
Sheriff Kozak has not announced a follow-up operation, but the office’s Task Force Model agreement with ICE remains in place, allowing deputies to continue making immigration arrests. Community leaders and residents across Wyoming are closely watching how local-federal immigration partnerships evolve as the Trump administration continues to expand enforcement efforts nationwide.
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