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Lawsuit Challenging Utah “SB1070 Lite” Law

10:12 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Politics|utah · 2 Comments

4 May 2011

The Utah anti-immigrant law passed in March that some praised for presenting a more middle of the road approach is facing it’s first legal challenge. Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Utah, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen filed a class action lawsuit charging that HB 497 authorizes police to demand “papers” demonstrating citizenship or immigration status during traffic stops, invites racial profiling of Latinos and others who appear “foreign” to an officer and interferes with federal law.

The lawsuit charges that the Utah law is unconstitutional in that it unlawfully interferes with federal power and authority over immigration matters in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution; authorizes and requires unreasonable seizures and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment; restricts the constitutional right to travel freely throughout the United States; violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by unlawfully discriminating against certain lawful immigrants as well as people in Utah without approved identify documents; and violates the Utah state constitutional guarantee of uniform operation of the laws.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah on behalf of civil rights, labor, social justice and business organizations, including Utah Coalition of La Raza, Service Employees International Union, Latin American Chamber of Commerce, Workers’ United Rocky Mountain Joint Board, Centro Civico Mexicano, Coalition of Utah Progressives, individually named plaintiffs who would be subject to harassment or arrest under the law and a class of similarly situated people.

“This law has been wildly misrepresented as a kinder, gentler version of Arizona’s discriminating law,” said Karen McCreary, Executive Director of the ACLU of Utah. “But the truth is, this ill-conceived law is just as harsh, turning Utah into a police state where everyone is required to carry their ‘papers’ to prove they are lawfully present.”

Florida and Utah Follow Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant/Anti-Human Ways

8:16 am By Maegan La Mala · Florida|Immigration|Politics|utah · 5 Comments

12 Aug 2010

Despite having key parts of SB1070 blocked via a temporary court injunction, Arizona’s anti-immigrant law is still seen by some as a model. Most recently Florida and Utah made moves inspired by the show me your papers law.

Yesterday in Florida, Attorney General Bill McCollum proposed legislation that pushes the Arizona envelope. According to the Herald-Tribune:

It would require police in Florida to check the status of suspected illegal immigrants during a lawful stop, require businesses to use a federal database to check the status of new hires and subject illegal immigrants who commit crimes to harsher penalties than legal immigrants or U.S. citizens. Under the proposal, immigrants who fail to carry proper identification could be jailed for up to 20 days on the first offense.

It would also go beyond Arizona’s law by allowing judges to consider an immigrant’s illegal status when setting bail in a criminal case.

Utah State Employees Behind “Undocumented Immigrant List”

5:09 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|utah · 1 Comment

17 Jul 2010

The “anonymous” group behind the list of over 1,000 suspected undocumented immigrants released in Utah last week isn’t so anonymous anymore.
At least two Utah state employees have been identified as being behind “the list” that included the names, addresses, birth dates, due dates, social security numbers, and places of employment of 1,300 “suspected” undocumented immigrants including about 200 children.

The workers, whose ironically have not have their names released, were employed by the Department of Workforce Services. There also may be 3 to 10 other state employees involved.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said that in addition to the state charges the two would be facing, there is the possibility of Federal felony level charges as well.

Gov. Gary Herbert also said that the state of Utah would not investigate any of the names of the people on “the list” but did not dismiss the possibility that the Federal government could and at publication date I.C.E. has not said that they will not use the list.

For those who say that anti-immigrant sentiment isn’t racialized as “brown”, the majority of the names on “the list”, some belonging to people who have since come forward and are not undocumented, are Latino.

Via / The Salt Lake Tribune

“They Have Terrorized Our Community”

8:13 pm By la Macha · Immigration|utah · Comments Off

15 Jul 2010

From Democracy Now! comes this report on yesterday’s horrifying news that over 1300 people were on a list of reportedly undocumented peoples that was turned into the government.

AMY GOODMAN: Where do you think this list came from?
TONY YAPIAS: This list came from a state agency. As we have called, as I have personally called a dozen or so families, there’s a pattern in the type of information that can be gathered. They indicate on the letter that they’ve been watching people in their neighborhoods, driving, etc. That’s not what happened. What we believe happened is we have state workers who are sympathizers or members or friends or associates of anti-immigrant groups here in Salt Lake or in the state of Utah and are angry with this whole issue of immigration. And so, because they have access to sensitive datas, that this information, when families apply for services, such as Medicaid or other types of services, then they get all the social information about the families, and that’s how they were able to compile the list. And so, I mean, this list is so much more sophisticated for someone like these anti-immigrant groups to just say, OK, Tony Yapias lives at this address, and then his friend lives at that address. It’s members of—Latinos that live from north to south, east to west in the state, so in every town.

It’s stated later in the commentary that the many of the people on the list are actually legal/documented and one woman is even going to be going for her citizenship test soon.

If you think your citizenship protects you, think again.

Anonymous Utah Group Creates List of 1,300 Alleged Illegal Immigrants

2:20 pm By la Macha · Immigration|utah · 7 Comments

14 Jul 2010

I just…can’t even think of anything to say. My mouth is on the floor and I can’t pick it up.

Via Gawker

An anonymous group in Utah calling itself “Concerned Citizens of the United States” has compiled a list of 1,300 alleged illegal immigrants—including their birth dates, workplaces, and social security numbers. “Begin deportation now,” the accompanying letter instructs.

On Tuesday, government agencies like Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, along with Utah news media like the Mormon mouthpiece Deseret News, received a list of 1,300 names, mostly Hispanic in origin, and identifying information: Not just birthdays and phone numbers, but social security numbers, names of children, and, in a particularly sinister touch, due dates for some pregnant women on the list.

“Our group observes these people in our neighborhoods, driving on our streets, working in our stores, attending our schools and entering our public welfare buildings,” the letter reads. “We then spend the time and effort needed to gather information along with legal Mexican nationals who infiltrate their social networks and help us obtain the necessary information we need.”

“We plan to provide your office with new lists on a continual basis and request—no insist—that your agency take immediate and forceful action to the individuals on this list and begin deportation now.”

The private information contained on the list indicates that one of its compilers could be a government employee, with access to Utah Department of Health or other state databases that would have information like due dates. Governor Gary Herbert has said the state is doing an internal investigation.

They even included *due dates* of pregnant women. Due dates.

I feel safe, how about you?

More States Step Up Against SB1070 and Copycat Laws

10:43 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Iowa|pennsylvania|utah · 1 Comment

5 Jul 2010

As Macha’s post earlier this morning pointed out, there are cities and states across the country taking a stand against Arizona’s SB1070 and copycat measures that are popping up all over the country.

Last week, a network of lawmakers so far representing 28 states announced their rejection of Arizona’s law which essentially legalizes racial profiling against Latinos. They are doing this by pushing pro-migrant legislation as opposed to laws that, to steal a phrase from Obama’s speech on immigration last week, put more “boots on the ground”.

In Iowa, for example, wage-enforcement legislation that expands opportunities and defends the rights of all workers passed the State Senate in 2008. Although it was not enacted, legislators will introduce a similar bill in 2011.

The legislation, proposed by Utah State Senator Luz Robles would enable legal immigrant children to receive preventive medical care through the federally-funded Medicaid and State Child Health Plus (SCHIP) programs without the current five year waiting period for immigrants included in President Obama’s recently passed health care package.

In Pennsylvania, legislators have taken the lead in efforts to introduce and advance community policing and anti-racial profiling legislation. Such measures would bar state and local law enforcement officers from taking on the added responsibility of enforcing federal immigration laws, while helping to curb incidents of racial profiling in the event they are required to by courts or the law.

Utah to Revoke Driving Privileges of Undocumented

12:27 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|utah · Comments Off

12 Feb 2008

The State House of Representatives in Utah voted yesterday to revoke the driving privileges of undocumented people.

Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, said the cards are a threat to national security because anyone, including terrorists, can get a federal individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), which is needed to get a driving privilege cards.
“Utah driver privilege cards are making it possible for illegal aliens to operate in our society,” he said.

Last year alone, about 41,000 driver privilege cards were granted. The bill now goes to the state senate.

Via / Salt Lake Tribune

Image Via / News for Mormons

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