The Summit County Council opposes sweeping immigration reforms passed by state lawmakers that will cross-deputize police officers as immigration agents if they take effect in July.
The council passed a resolution Wednesday in support of two bills that would delay the implementation of Senate Bill 81, which the Legislature approved in 2008.
“Senate Bill 81, in my opinion, moves law enforcement back probably 30 years or 40 years,” Summit County Councilman David Ure said. “Law enforcement, under this new law, will become immigration officers.”
SB 81 is a “very mean and vindictive bill,” Ure said, adding that, “it will destroy lots of families.”
The law could require government employers register to use a system that verifies the work status of new employees. It also could require governmental entities to verify the immigration status of people who apply for state or local benefits. Local law enforcement would begin aggressively enforcing immigration laws by detaining people living in their communities illegally under SB 81.
But the cost to sheriff’s offices to implement these new procedures is high, said state Rep. Christine Johnson, a Salt Lake City Democrat who represents the Snyderville Basin.
HB 107 would stop the new law from taking effect until July 2010, as the impact illegal immigrants have on Utah’s economy is studied. The study would identify costs incurred last year by state government providing goods and services to illegal immigrants, focusing primarily on education, health care, law enforcement and incarceration costs.
The bill would appropriate $150,000 to also identify taxes and fees illegal immigrants pay to state and local governments.
Meanwhile, SB 113 would also stop SB 81 from taking effect until July 2010.
Summit County is tightening its belt and cannot afford to pay deputies to enforce laws the federal government should oversee, Summit County Councilwoman Sally Elliott said.
“I fully intend not to allow Senate Bill 81 to take effect this year,” said Ure, a former state representative.
Still, polls show nearly 80 percent of Utahns support the swift implementation of Senate Bill 81, said Alex Segura, founder of the Utah Minuteman Project.
“I think the public sentiment is changing,” Ure countered. “People are now realizing what this bill might do.”
Ure said he will also help defeat legislation that would tighten a law that makes resident tuition rates at state colleges and universities available to illegal immigrants who are high school graduates in Utah.
The bill would require the undocumented students sign affidavits each semester promising they haven’t worked in the U.S. illegally by using fraudulent documents to get jobs.
The Legislature has approved a resolution that proposes a state-run guest worker program in Utah. The measure asks Congress to grant waivers to Utah to establish an employer-sponsored work program to address illegal immigration in the state by allowing immigrants temporary legal residency.
Taxes withheld from the workers’ paychecks will go toward funding the program, the measure states.