The situation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has become tense enough that Weber County Sheriff Ryan Arbon felt compelled to share a statement on his Sheriff Facebook page recently that expressed support for cooperating with the federal law enforcement agency.

Arbon later sat down with the Standard-Examiner to discuss his thoughts in more detail.

For their part, Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski and the Ogden City Police Department have emphasized that they do not enforce federal immigration laws.

In an interview with the Standard-Examiner on Wednesday, Nadolski spoke more of his approach to the highly contentious issue.

“There’s a lot of loud voices out there right now, and I want to say that those voices are important,” Nadolski said. “They’re loud for a reason. There’s concerns out there and there’s reasons for it, and it’s important that we listen to it.

“It’s also important that we listen to the people who are not in the room who don’t have the ability to elevate their voice in that way because the stories matter and they differ.”

Nadolski said leaders are supposed to lead and govern, not just react, and that they have tremendous responsibilities. He recognized that he in particular has significant responsibilities, which he invited.

“I’m not going to shirk it and I’m not going to be reactive,” he said. “I’m going to be responsible. That’s what this city needs. And the way we’ve been doing it has led us to a point today where we don’t have the same issues … that we are seeing nationally in our city right now. I cannot guarantee there won’t be at some point because I don’t have control over the federal agencies. I can only control what we do here.”

Nadolski recognizes that his approach isn’t popular with everybody. He knows the criticisms, that he is “out of touch” because he isn’t “capitulating” to everything he hears said to him. He forcefully rejects that notion.

“I am so in touch through these channels and these networks — sitting in living rooms, in restaurants, in businesses, in churches — that I’m hearing a lot of other input, too,” he said. “And we’re putting that input into our decision-making for responsible governance so that we can provide an environment that is lawful, that maintains order, that is safe for our city, and that’s not what’s happening in every city.

“You’re seeing some mayors across the country taking this opportunity to grandstand, and I’m just telling you, it’s putting people in danger. I’m not going to be that kind of a mayor. I’m going to listen to the people that I serve.”

Nadolski said his duty “first and foremost” is to make sure Ogden remains safe. He called it a “constitutional obligation” which he “swore an oath to” when he took office.

“I will not shirk it for political convenience or for cheap political points. Period. It’s not going to happen,” he said.

But, Nadolski said, he’s also “not going to act and lead and serve in a way that isn’t truly connected to input from my city and my community.”

He pointed to Luis Lopez, community engagement director for Ogden City, saying that’s why his position and input are important. The access provided by Lopez, Nadolski said, helps give him perspective.

“They tell me the things I need to hear, and there are things that you guys probably won’t hear because people don’t want to share. It’s too personal,” he said. “But that’s all part of my decision-making and the way that I’m leading, and we need more of that kind of leadership in my view in this country.”

Nadolski lamented what he said is society rewarding extremes over common sense.

“And so you see us framed in the traditional media and in social media and so on one way or the other, and everybody wants to know, ‘What side are you on? This side or that side?” he said.

He spoke of a recent meeting where he said the words “ambiguous” and “neutral” were used to describe him, in his opinion, to get him “to be more extreme” in his opinion and communication. He said the Constitution of the United States of America isn’t neutral.

“That is our grounding document, our founding document, and it is where we find our foundation in times like these,” he said. “I’m not finding them in a social media blitz or a political attack, of which there are many on me all the time.”

Nadolski said people, along with the Constitution, is his administration’s “compass” and that remaining grounded in those fundamentals is not neutral or ambiguous.

“That’s leadership, right?” Nadolski said. “And we lead with love and we lead by listening and we lead with integrity and character and we make reasoned and sound, solid decisions for our city.”

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.