The Utah Senate shut down this House immigration bill. Why?

House Republicans launched the 2025 legislative session with a package of bills that would increase the consequences for immigration-related crimes.

After six weeks of work, the Senate is slamming the door on some of them in a stated effort to limit the number of new criminal enhancements, while letting some pass through if they slim up.

Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, told the Deseret News on Friday that the Senate is applying strict scrutiny because the House filed around 80 bills this session that would toughen up law enforcement responses.

Senate Judiciary Chair Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, on Friday that he needed to be convinced

Wilcox’s bill, which enhanced penalties for street gang recruitment and theft, was necessary.

“We can’t continue to enhance everything every year,” Weiler said. “It’s an unsustainable course.”

A green light for unlicensed drivers

On Friday, the Senate Transportation Committee signaled the end of the road for Rep. Matt MacPherson’s proposal that would have discouraged unlicensed driving, with little discussion even after the bill passed with large margins in the House.

The bill, HB392, was brought forward at the request of law enforcement across the state who reported a surge in interactions with drivers without a license.

In 2023, unlicensed drivers made up nearly 50% of the 2,000 serious car crashes in West Valley City, according to data published by the city police department. Nearly 50% of individuals identified in hit-and-runs were also unlicensed.

The bill would have allowed law enforcement to seize a vehicle without a warrant if the driver did not possess a driver’s license, permit or privilege card.

In addition to increasing the penalty for driving without a license from an infraction to a misdemeanor, the bill would have implemented towing and identification requirements similar to those followed by police officers in cases of reckless driving or driving under the influence.

One of the biggest problems highlighted by law enforcement that the bill would have addressed was the inability for police to ticket these drivers because many of them do not have identification. The bill would have required police to take a quick fingerprint of an unlicensed driver.

Following the hearing, MacPherson, R-West Valley, said the Senate’s goal of filtering out criminal enhancements should not be applied indiscriminately based solely on factors like jail capacity or funding.

“I think that unless it is done with careful thought, you risk ignoring real problems in our communities that still rely on the rule of law,” MacPherson said.

Senate supports penalties for repeat offenders

The Senate has shown a desire to address an increase in immigrant crime after four years of historic immigration as long as it pertains to repeat offenders or is very narrowly tailored to violent crimes.

On Thursday, the Senate presented its consensus immigration law enforcement bill to the House where it received a unanimous recommendation for a floor vote with just one week left in the 2025 legislative session.

SB90, Mandatory Jail Sentence Amendments, would require mandatory jail sentences for drug and theft crimes committed by individuals who were previously convicted of one of these crimes, deported and then found to have reentered the country illegally.

Bill sponsor Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, referred to one instance of an unauthorized immigrant apprehended by local law enforcement who had previously been deported 11 times.

“They were clearly tied to organized crime,” Musselman said. “There’s almost a revolving door there. ... That’s what this is trying to stop.”

Musselman’s bill would require someone who is convicted of a crime in Utah following criminal reentry into the United States to be sentenced with at least 90 days in jail for a class C misdemeanor, 180 days for a class B misdemeanor and 360 days for a class A misdemeanor or felony.

The bill would prohibit an individual who receives one of these mandatory jail sentences from being turned over to the federal government for deportation until the person has served the entire mandatory jail sentence.

It would allow local law enforcement to coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on deportation proceedings during the 14-day period before the final day of the individual’s jail sentence.

Senate narrows bill to open up deportations

One of the central House bills related to state and national efforts to address crimes committed by immigrants underwent significant changes before the Senate said it could advance for a floor vote.

Rep. Candice Pierucci’s HB226 would partially reverse a 2019 law, passed unanimously, that decreased the maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor by one day, to 364 days, in an attempt to skirt federal immigration policy that allows the immediate deportation of legal or illegal immigrants who are sentenced to 365 days or more.

After her bill failed in committee earlier this week, Pierucci, R-Riverton, was able to bring it back on Friday on the condition that she removed certain provisions.

The bill originally increased penalties for nonprofit groups that knowingly transported unauthorized immigrants into the state. This portion was removed, as was language allowing DUI’s to trigger automatic deportation.

The current version of the bill would increase the minimum sentence by one day only for violent class A misdemeanors like sexual abuse and assault.

During meetings with ICE officials over the last year, the state’s one-day sentencing reduction was repeatedly identified as an obstacle for federal authorities seeking to work with Utah law enforcement to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally, Pierucci said.

“Our 364 to 365 did make Utah somewhat of a target and somewhat of a magnet and made it difficult for us to work with ICE as they worked on deportation,” Pierucci told committee members.

Pierucci’s bill would codify law enforcement best practices of coordinating with federal immigration authorities before releasing an immigrant charged with a class A misdemeanor or a felony.

It would also require the immigration status of arrested individuals to be submitted to a court as part of the probable cause statement and would give judges the presumption that individuals are considered a flight risk for bail if they are not lawfully present in the country.

Escamilla voted against the bill, along with Weiler, arguing the bill would have a disproportionate affect on immigrants lawfully in the country, like green card holders, refugees and temporary visa recipients.

“These are misdemeanors and they are misdemeanors for a reason. And the moment we trigger that piece it’s a completely different impact for lawfully present individuals,” Escamilla said.

But this kind of disagreement is what makes the the bicameral system best for making good policy, according to Pierucci.

On Wednesday, Musselman and Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, voted against Pierucci’s bill. Three days later, after Pierucci narrowed the size and scope of her bill, they jumped on board.

“The House and Senate are very different,” Pierucci said. “This is the way the process works.”