State lawmakers have illegal immigration in their cross hairs. The senator who represents most of eastern Summit County said a list of proposed new laws he reviewed Friday had 18 immigration-related bills.

“We’re going to have to pick and choose and get something done on this,” said Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden.

The most controversial bill might be Republican Rep. Stephen Sandstrom’s Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act. On Friday, House members passed Sandstrom’s House Bill 70, which is modeled after a law in Arizona aimed at cracking down on those who are in the United States illegally.

The legislation would require local police officers and deputies to verify the immigration status of some of the suspects they detain. It was initially determined that enforcing H.B. 70 could cost local governments between $5 and $11 million per year.

But Sandstrom recently revised the legislation to allow officers to choose whether they check the immigration status of minor offenders. Officers would be required to check those who commit felonies or class A misdemeanors when they believe the suspects may be in the country illegally. Those who are in the United States illegally could be detained.

Rep. Mel Brown, a Coalville Republican who represents Park City and the East Side voted for H.B. 70. Rep Joel Briscoe, a Democrat who represents the Snyderville Basin, voted against the bill.

Christensen said he expects the Senate to approve the legislation. Senators must approve the bill and it must be signed by the governor before the legislation can become law.

“Sandstrom’s bill will probably pass,” Christensen said when reached Friday morning. “But that’s enforcement only.”

Another bill in the state House of Representatives would repeal a law that allows some illegal immigrants to receive in-state college tuition after graduating from high school in Utah.

Supporters said the high-school and college dropout rates for immigrants will increase if the law is repealed. But the House Revenue and Taxation Committee passed the legislation on Friday.

House Bill 191 is now scheduled to be debated on the floor of the House. The legislation is sponsored by state Republican Rep. Carl Wimmer. Brown voted for the bill and Briscoe opposed H.B. 191 on Friday.

Anna Williams, a teacher at Park City High School, said she will fight the bill. Williams said she instructs bilingual students who intend to go to college.

“All we’re asking for is equal access to education,” Williams said. “At this point we really need to be vocal. I’m going to encourage these students to lobby. I dare these people to look my students in the eye and tell them that because of the documentation their access to education will be limited.”

Meanwhile, illegal immigrants in Utah would lose their driving privileges if legislation introduced by Republican Sen. Stephen Urquhart is passed.

Illegal immigrants who obtain Utah driving privilege cards are allowed to operate motor vehicles in the state. But all driving privilege cards would expire in December and no more of the permits would be issued if Senate Bill 138 is approved.

The legislation has passed the Senate Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Committee. Senators are discussing the bill on the floor.

Guest worker program

Not all of the bills the Legislature is discussing aim to push illegal immigrants out of the state. A proposal from Republican Rep. Bill Wright would create a way for illegal immigrants to work in Utah.

Summit County Councilman David Ure, a dairy farmer in Kamas, said a guest worker program is long overdue. He testified in favor of the bill at a legislative committee meeting Tuesday.

“I as a farmer cannot hire anybody that either wants to work or knows how to work,” Ure said in a telephone interview Friday. “The Kamas Valley is supposed to be classified as an agriculture valley and yet 99.9 percent of the kids in high school don’t know which end of a pitchfork to lean on.”

Farmers have a difficult time finding workers who are not in the country illegally, he said.

“It’s the same way in the milking parlors. It’s the same way in the cherry orchards. We Americans think that we’re too good to do physical labor anymore,” Ure said. “We’re losing the best and the brightest to big business because it pays so dang much more and the hours are so much less.”

Wright’s guest worker bill was approved by the House Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Committee. Lawmakers have begun discussing the legislation on the House floor.

Opponents said the measure is unconstitutional because states cannot pass laws that allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country.

“The bill probably is unconstitutional. But the feds and Congress are looking at Utah,” Ure said. “Put in place a system so the people who are helping feed America have security. I’m not talking amnesty, but a program that is organized so they can come in here for two or three years and at the end of three years they have to go back.”