As controversy has surrounded the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration, Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, has said he doesn’t feel there must be a choice between having rule of law and compassion.

During a recent visit to the Ogden area, Curtis recalled a conversation he said he recently had with President Donald Trump.

“I had a chance to have a brief conversation with the President,” he said. “And in that conversation, one of the things I said is, ‘I think it’s a false narrative that we can’t have rule of law and compassion.’ And I think that’s what’s missing right now.

He said there is a need to assess how ICE has functioned in recent months.

Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press

“The American people clearly want rule of law — we’ve seen the president really praised and rewarded for the work closing the border down,” he said. “But I also feel like there’s this sense of it doesn’t have to be this way. And clearly, ICE has hired a vast number of people on a very quick basis. And I think we need to look deeply into the resources we’re giving these ICE agents from a training perspective and a preparation perspective.”

Curtis said it’s paramount that Americans have trust in their institutions.

“That trust is so important,” he said. “And when you lose that trust, then you get the riots. And so, I think as government, we need to step back and say, ‘What are we doing? What can we do better to calm this down and still have rule of law?'”

Increased immigration enforcement as well as the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have helped lead to protests across the country. This has included in the Ogden area, which has seen walkouts organized at Ogden High School, Ben Lomond High School, Weber State University and others. These demonstrations in Ogden have remained peaceful.

Curtis said the sometimes chaotic nature of social media and how quickly the ICE situation has evolved has made it difficult to keep track of what’s happening and build trust between the people and the government.

“It’s incumbent on government to function in a way that people have trust and these institutions are respected,” he said. “It only takes one bad action someplace to spread and then lose trust everywhere. I think it’s hard, not just for the American people to get their arms around what ICE has done and what they haven’t done, but for me too. Because these stories are magnified and they have a life on social media and grow out there.”

He said that he feels the situation will improve with ongoing leadership.

“I think Tom Homan has done a really good job of coming in and saying, ‘OK, let’s slow down. Like, what’s exactly happening? What’s not happening? What’s our role? What’s not our role?’ And I think kind of him being the adult in the room has really helped a lot,” Curtis said.