Comprehensive anti-illegal immigration bill passes Senate

Team Coverage

The Utah Senate has passed a comprehensive immigration bill: one that has been the subject of multiple protests. The bill calls for sweeping changes to the way undocumented workers are handled in the workforce and by law enforcement.

The bill that passed was a "kinder" version of the original, and it does not take effect until July of 2009--to give lawmakers more time to study immigration.

The original bill was patterned after an Oklahoma law. A lot of people here were worried about unintended consequences from the legislation.

Sen. Bill Hickman of St. George has made multiple revisions to Senate Bill 81. Those revisions boiled down to concerns about harsh penalties for employers or churches who may not know someone is here illegally.

Those who oppose the bill are passionate about a lot of issues. "There will be racial profiling. There will be discrimination that results from these things, from the passage of this bill, and I don't mean only those that may be here in an undocumented status," said Sen. Ross Romero.

Sen. Pat Jones said, "I'm wanting some reassurance that this legislation will not result in the same kind of detrimental effects to Utah's economy, if, in fact, it passes."

"What's more important to us the rule of law or some unmeasured impact to our economy? And I would hasten to say, in my opinion, that this society is based on the rule of law," Hickman said.

The bill passed the Senate by a vast majority. Most lawmakers this year have said that they've gotten overwhelming amounts of e-mail demanding something be done about immigration.

Meanwhile, members of the Latino community gathered at the Capitol today to protest this and other anti-illegal immigration bills. "We've been coming up to the Capitol since the legislative session started, and we've been continually frustrated by the bills that keep passing," said student activist Valery Pozo

Pozo says this silent protest symbolizes how frozen the state will become if SB81 and HB241 pass. She says lawmakers haven't thought them through. "I think they're being really blind to the fact that we need these immigrants."

Pozo says neighboring states with tougher immigration laws have trouble finding laborers.

Proyecto Latino de Utah also released a statement this afternoon responding to the passage of SB81. The statement says the response to the passage of the bill is "'mixed' or 'bad news ... good news'" among some Latino community members.

The statement also reads, "Having a January of 2009 date will allow all of us (legislators and citizens) to call on the U.S. Congress and the new president-elect to take action on this important issue affecting our communities nationwide."

Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, said, "We will wait and see the final bill as it awaits passage in the House of Representatives to determine the actions the community will take."