- Utah's Republican-led Legislature announced a package of a dozen bills that would enhance penalties for crimes committed by migrants in the country illegally.
- Multiple bills seek to facilitate deportations of migrants who are in Utah illegally and then break the law.
- One proposal would provide emergency funding to schools that have experienced a surge in non-English speakers.
Utah Republican lawmakers announced a slate of immigration bills on Monday targeting migrants who are in the country illegally and increasing penalties for migrant-related crime.
House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, led a press conference at the Utah Capitol outlining how the state Legislature plans to take a more active role in immigration policy following the record-breaking increase in migrants into the U.S. during the Biden administration.
“While we are confident that the incoming Trump administration is going to take the southern border much more seriously, we also know that we need to act as state leaders to address the harm caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to act,” Lisonbee said. “When the federal government fails to fulfill its responsibility, states have no choice but to step up.”
Utah remains a place that welcomes all legal immigrants and refugees but that attitude cannot come at the expense of public safety or seriously strained public resources, Lisonbee said.
Utah lawmakers to facilitate deportations of criminals
The Legislature’s announcement follows an election year in which President-elect Donald Trump focused on crime committed by migrants who are in the country illegally and initiating what Trump says will be the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
One bill sponsored by Lisonbee would expand detention space for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers to make it easier to deport migrants in the country illegally who commit crimes.
The package of about a dozen bills presented on Monday focused on enhancing criminal charges for those involved in violent crimes as well as creating negative consequences for other unauthorized migrants living in the state.
Bill texts will be made public over the next few weeks, Lisonbee said, and will be introduced during the 45-day legislative session beginning on Jan. 21, one day after Trump enters office.
Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, introduced several proposals to crack down on immigrants convicted of crimes and to help Utah communities that have been overwhelmed by a surge in immigration.
Pierucci proposed a bill that would repeal a 2019 law that reduced the jail sentence for class A misdemeanor by one day to protect migrants from automatic deportation.
Her bill would increase the sentence back to 365 days which would allow ICE to more easily deport migrants who break the law after entering Utah. The bill would require the deportation of migrants who have been incarcerated instead of leaving open the chance for them to be released in Utah after completing their sentence.
“It’s critical that we’re cracking down on crime and working hand in hand with President Trump’s administration to expedite the process of exporting criminals who have entered our country, either illegally or manipulated and abused our country’s immigration system, come to America and then done harm to the public,” Pierucci said.
Pierucci also plans to introduce provisions to limit bail for undocumented or asylum seeking migrants, and to enhance penalties for human trafficking.
She also wants to stop nonprofit organizations from “knowingly transporting undocumented individuals into Utah.”
Pierucci said it would specifically target nonprofit groups that have transported migrants from other states to Utah against the state’s wishes, and sometimes against the wishes of the individual being moved.
What other immigration bills were announced?
Pierucci’s legislative district in Herriman, and the surrounding areas of southwest Salt Lake County have been hit by increased immigration more than most places in the state.
Since 2020, the number of new immigration cases in Herriman have climbed from 750 to nearly 13,000, Pierucci said, citing data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The city has been forced to triple its budget for court translation services and multiple schools have seen an increase of more than 100% in non-English speaking students, Pierucci said.
To support these communities, Pierucci plans to introduce a bill that will allow the most impacted schools to access emergency funds to train additional teachers for English Language Learners.
The other bills announced on Monday would:
- Enhance penalties for trafficking fentanyl to include a presumptive jail sentence.
- Enhance penalties for gang crimes, including recruiting minors to join gangs.
- Enhance penalties for migrants who commit a felony after previously being convicted by federal authorities of unlawful reentry.
- Enhance penalties for driving without a license and require the impoundment of vehicles of unlicensed drivers.
- Enhance penalties for those who squat in vacant homes.
- Increase the number of businesses required to use E-Verify.
- Create a 2% fee for international wire transfers which can be waived for tax filers or people with valid state ID.
House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, who was in attendance, said there is little daylight between herself and her colleagues on the importance of public safety. Romero’s worry is that the conversation risks conflating vulnerable members of the community with violence and crime.
“I’ve had people who live in my district tell me that people are telling them to go back where they came from, to go home, they’re feeling like people are being hostile towards them,” Romero said. “My concern is the fact that we’re not separating the two when we talk about immigration.”
Is the Utah Compact intact?
Just under 15 years ago, Utah distinguished itself from neighboring states with the Utah Compact on Immigration, a statement signed by hundreds of Utah leaders in 2010 that attempted to balance the rule of law, a recognition of federal authority on immigration, an opposition to policies that separate families and an aspiration to integrate migrants into the economy.
The statement was followed a year later by a historic package of state laws under the same name that included a guest worker program for migrants, in-state college tuition for undocumented migrants and a requirement for law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone suspected of a class A misdemeanor or felony.
Monday’s policy unveiling represented a departure from the substance and tone of the Utah Compact, according to Romero. While lawmakers did not propose rolling back the state’s driver privilege card program — which was Romero’s biggest concern — the nine Republican legislators strayed from the Utah Compact by not emphasizing the value of migrants in our communities.
“So my main concern is mixing up immigration and public safety,” Romero said. “Are there parallels? Yes. But my concern is how we talk about these issues.”
Pierucci rejected the idea that the press conference marked a break with the Utah Compact. Integrating migrants into the community and keeping communities safe are not at odds if the focus remains on penalizing those who commit “an additional crime” after entering the country, Pierucci said.
“All these bills are focusing on the criminal element of this, and none of these bills are targeting people who have come here as temporary asylum seekers,” Pierucci said.