Ecuadorean man detained in Utah after U.S. denies his visa application

Dennys Alcivar Torres, an Ecuadorean national who entered the United States on a tourist visa, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Ogden, Utah, on 3 September 2026. He is contesting both the arrest and the involvement of an Ogden police officer, and the police department says it is reviewing the incident.

Key facts

• Detention took place on 3 September 2026 in an Ogden parking lot
• Alcivar entered the United States legally on 8 June 2025 on a tourist visa, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says
• DHS says his pending application was denied in September 2026 for abandonment
• Ogden Police Department has no formal accord with ICE and is reviewing the case
• Both men detained in the two local cases have been released from immigration detention

What happened on 3 September?

Alcivar had just left Ogden Justice Court, where he had a hearing connected to tickets issued in a 2 August traffic case — a class C misdemeanour for failing to keep a proper lookout for others while driving, and an infraction for driving without a licence. He says he was sitting in a parked car that was not running when ICE agents approached him.

Footage from a bystander shows two agents pulling Alcivar from the car, trying to handcuff him and forcing him to the ground. An Ogden police officer arrives while he is on the ground and helps the agents cuff him. Alcivar says paramedics called to the scene reported low vital signs and he was taken to hospital.

What does the U.S. government say?

DHS said Alcivar entered the United States legally on 8 June 2025 but stayed beyond his required departure date, that his pending application was denied in September 2026 for abandonment, and that he has "no lawful status to remain in the United States". The department also said he refused officers' commands to leave his vehicle and resisted arrest, and that Ogden police arrived to help make the arrest safely.

Alcivar, who says he ran a marketing business in Ecuador and is trained as a lawyer, says he came from Guayaquil on a tourist visa and was applying for a student visa to study English. He says he paid the fees and filed the change-of-status documents, and argues U.S. law allows him to remain while that request is pending.

Why is the police role being questioned?

This is the second local case in which an Ogden officer was present at an ICE detention. On 25 August, an officer at the scene on an unrelated matter saw ICE detain Jonathan Paredes Rodriguez, originally from Venezuela, who surrendered to an agent after asking the officer for help. Immigrant advocates addressed the Ogden City Council on 1 September, asking the city to spell out what contact police may have with ICE agents.

Ogden Police Capt. Matt Ward said the department is conducting a review and is looking at a policy on interactions with ICE, and could not comment further on the 3 September incident. Kim Haslam, who is active in Ogden United, said advocates have been given no specifics or timeline for the policy. Both detained men were placed in immigration detention facilities and later released, with their immigration cases unresolved.

What this means for travellers

The case turns on visa status: federal officials say a tourist visa holder who remains past the required departure date, and whose change-of-status application is denied for abandonment, has no lawful status. Travellers on U.S. tourist visas who are applying to change status should keep track of their required departure date and the outcome of any pending application.

What happens next

At the Ogden City Council meeting on 13 October, Alcivar asked the city to allow police reports from anyone who says they were attacked by ICE officials. He says he has consulted a lawyer and is weighing his options, and city officials say an updated policy on police interactions with ICE is in the works, without giving a date.