Foreign countries line up to oppose Utah immigration law

More than a dozen Latin American countries have filed legal briefs in federal court arguing Utah’s enforcement-only immigration law will damage international relationships and urging the judge to rule it unconstitutional.

And on Tuesday, the Utah Attorney General’s Office asked for and was granted a 30-day extension in which to respond to the lawsuit, filed on behalf of several plaintiffs by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center.

The 21-page, friend-of-the-court brief was filed June 2 and argues HB497 “substantially and inappropriately burdens the consistent sovereign-to-sovereign relations between Mexico and the United States of America, interfering with the strategic diplomatic interests of the two countries and encouraging an imminent threat of state-sanctioned bias or discrimination.”

Mexico is the lead country on the brief but was joined by Argentina, Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Brazil...[Full Article]

Utah sued by ACLU over illegal immigration enforcement law

SALT LAKE CITY — Alicia Cervantes fears Utah's new illegal immigration enforcement law will subject her to police questioning because she is Latina.

A U.S. citizen born in Utah, Cervantes also believes the passage of HB497 has already led to anti-immigrant sentiment in the state. Recently, her daughter's classmates have said things such as "Send the Mexicans home."

For those reasons, Cervantes signed on as a plaintiff in a federal class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday against the state of Utah over the law set to take effect May 15. It argues the measure is unconstitutional and will lead to racial profiling.

The ACLU and National Immigration Law Center filed the complaint on behalf several individuals and organizations including Utah Coalition of La Raza and the Latin American Chamber of Commerce. Lawyers this week intend to seek an injunction in U.S. District Court to stop the law from being enforced, said Karen McCreary, ACLU of Utah executive director.

In the meantime, the Department of Justice sounds more and more like it might sue the state over the package of illegal immigration bills the Legislature approved this year. The federal government has already gone to court to stop Arizona's enforcement law...[Full Article]

Mormon leader faces deportation

DRAPER, Utah—

Federal officers arrested 53 year old Felix Callejas, his wife and two of their children at their home April 19. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says a judge ordered Luca Callejas to return to El Salvador in 2008.

Callejas' other family members got the same deportation order in 2009. The family appealed and their case was dismissed earlier this month.

Callejas is the president of a Spanish speaking LDS Church branch in Draper. Concerned church members called local activist Tony Yapias saying they're now afraid to go to church. “The whole membership was devastated over what happened,” says Latino rights advocate Tony Yapias.

Yapias says concerned Mormons called him heartbroken that their branch president, 53-year-old Felix Callejas and his family, were arrested by federal immigration officers.

Callejas was arrested April 19 and remains in jail for living in the U.S. as an illegal alien. His wife and two of their children were also arrested, but have since been released from jail...[Full Article]

STEIN: Obama punts as Utah grants amnesty to illegals
President tackles Arizona for upholding federal immigration law

Last April, when Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation authorizing Arizona to enforce federal immigration laws, President Obama stepped before the television cameras in the Rose Garden and threatened to take action to prevent the law from taking effect. Within weeks, his Justice Department filed suit against Arizona on the grounds that S.B. 1070 pre-empted the federal government's exclusive authority over immigration policy.

In contrast to Arizona’s effort to enforce immigration laws passed by Congress, the Utah legislature enacted legislation in March that creates a completely separate immigration policy for Utah. One of the bills signed by Gov. Gary Herbert would grant two-year work permits to illegal aliens who reside in Utah, provided they have no criminal records. Because federal law expressly forbids illegal aliens from working anywhere in the United States - including Utah - the law gives the governor until 2013 to negotiate a waiver with the federal government. Even if a waiver is not issued, Utah would begin issuing work permits to illegal aliens beginning in 2013...[Full Article]

Immigration reform advocates hail Utah policy as model for the nation

When Utah recently passed a package of immigration bills that offered a guest worker program along with stricter enforcement of existing immigration laws, some hailed the package as a breath of fresh air–a vote for moderation in what all too often has become a very contentious debate.

Writing in the Sacramento Bee, Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a national federation of small-business owners advocating immigration reform, says the Utah package is all that and more.

She notes that while parts of the Utah package are unconstitutional on their face, they point the way to a new way of approaching the issue and, if adopted by other states, could provide the momentum needed to get the U.S. Congress to enact a similar package, which would be constitutional by virtue of being federal...[Full Article]

White House silent on Utah's 'independence'

Advocates for tougher enforcement of U.S. immigration laws say the state of Utah doesn't have the authority to issue its own work permits to illegal aliens -- and that the federal government has the obligation to challenge Utah's effort to become a "sanctuary state."...[Full Article]

Utah gov. signs package of 4 immigration bills

SALT LAKE CITY

Gov. Gary Herbert signed bills Tuesday that will increase immigration enforcement but also implement a guest worker program in Utah, as he formally challenged the federal government to address immigration before states make their own fixes.

The package of four measures the Republican-dominated Legislature passed earlier this month has upset people on both sides of the issue, and Herbert made it clear a primary goal of the package is to force a federal solution...[Full Article]

Utah Latino groups urge boycott of stores, banks in protest of illegal immigration bills

SALT LAKE CITY — Several Latino groups are calling on their community to not shop at any Utah stores for two weeks in protest of an enforcement-only illegal immigration bill.

"We are not going to buy anything for 15 days," Jose Gutierrez, president of the Utah Hispanic Latino Coalition, said Thursday.

The boycott is planned for March 14 to March 28. In addition, he called on Latinos to withdraw their money from banks during that period "to show we make a difference" in the state's economy...[Full Article]

Illegal aliens would find sanctuary in proposed Utah bill

The head of a grassroots immigration reform organization is dismayed over reports that the Mormon Church is one of major supporters of a bill that could make Utah a "sanctuary state" for illegal aliens.

Utah H.B. 116 has already passed the legislative process and now awaits the decision of Governor Gary Herbert to either sign or veto the historic measure. The bill would create a guest worker program for illegal immigrants in the state, despite the fact that immigration statutes are a federal prerogative.

William Gheen is president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC). He says the amnesty legislation is guided by the principles of the Utah Compact, which the Deseret News reported has been endorsed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...[Full Article]

Four men arrested for illegal hunting

...Miguel Vergara allegedly told officers he has a visa to be in the United States, but he did not have identification with him. The other three occupants admitted being in the country illegally. Miguel Vergara was booked into the Utah County Jail on charges of wanton destruction of protected wildlife and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. The other three men were booked on charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and aiding and assisting in the wanton destruction of protected wildlife. All four are being held on a $5,000 cash bail and an immigration hold.

[Full Article]

Utah immigration bill coming next week, despite call for moratorium, Sandstrom says

SALT LAKE CITY — His get-tough bill to crack down on illegal immigrants in Utah will be ready this week, Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, told an immigration forum Saturday — right after a long-time Hispanic activist urged a moratorium on new state immigration laws.

The goal of the forum, the first of several planned by the Utah Hispanic Latino Coalition, was to civilly find solutions to illegal immigration. The result: Well … it was civil, at least.

"State solutions muddy the waters, and they bring out the rhetoric and the nastiness," suggested Archie Archuleta, head of the Utah Coalition of La Raza, hoping for a moratorium.

But Sandstrom's bill is still on track.

"We're just getting the language finished up," he said, adding that the bill "will stand up in court."...

[Full Article]

Mixed family welfare benefits controlled by illegal alien parents

According to data release by Utah’s Workforce Services, 10% of Utah families receiving public assistance have a blend of citizens and undocumented immigrants relying on public benefits to survive.

This calls into serious question the often repeated assertion that illegal aliens do not receive taxpayer funded benefits.

While it may be technically correct to say that illegal aliens do not qualify directly for taxpayer funded, welfare benefits, the Workforce Services figures show that in reality illegal aliens are directly benefiting from taxpayer funded welfare programs through their American born children.

Illegal aliens clearly rely on their children's taxpayer funded benefits to help make ends meet...

[Full Article]

10 pct. of households receiving aid are mixed-immigration status

SALT LAKE CITY — Ten percent of the Utah households that receive food stamps, Medicaid or government welfare are a blend of illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens, according to new data released by the state.

Illegal immigrants cannot receive such benefits directly, except for some emergency health care. But any of their children born in the United States become automatic U.S. citizens and may receive benefits.

Department of Workforce Services data requested by the Deseret News shows that 23,837 such mixed-status households received some benefits between June 2009 and May of this year.

That is 10 percent of the 238,521 total Utah households that received such help. DWS collects data from illegal immigrants because the income of all household members affects eligibility of citizens for benefits and the amounts they may receive...

[Full Article]

Hiring Illegal Immigrants May Lead To Jail In Utah

Employers in Utah could be among the first in the country to face criminal charges for failing to verify their workers' immigration status, under a bill passed Friday by a legislative committee that now moves to the full Senate...