Usually immigration issues come to the forefront in Utah headlines when there is a GOP primary battle for the 3rd Congressional District. John Jacobs tried to take out former Congressman Chris Cannon with this issue only to have it thrown back into his face when allegations came out that Jacobs had hired undocumented workers. Although Jacobs called the accusation a “ flat-out lie”, those accusations, along with a visit from Satan, gave Cannon the boost he needed to win the primary — and yet immigration reform rarely appeared during the general election.
Two years later, Utah’s newest member of Congress used immigration angst (tent cities) to hype up supporters against Cannon and beat the former congressman in a June primary.
What does this tell us about that district? It tells us that you can count on people frustrated and focused on this single issue to show up and vote.
Unfortunately, too many Utahns are not engaged in the election process, and that is why this issue is being used as a springboard to help rebuild the Utah GOP base due to the recent exodus of Utah Republicans who feel disenfranchised.
These Utah Republicans are both fiscally conservative and socially responsible and they are disappointed with the lack of commitment to Utah’s families and public education by our GOP elected officials. They are embarrassed by message bills that waste taxpayers’ money on unnecessary taxpayer funded litigation.
Rep. Stephen Sandstrom (R-Orem) is crafting a bill that would require immigrants to carry proof of status and require law enforcement officers to question anyone they believe is in the country without documentation. Unfortunately, what Rep. Sandstrom is really doing is attempting to use this emotional issue to build a stronger anti-illegal immigration voting base. Just ask Rep. Carl Wimmer (R-Herriman) why he singled out Hispanics instead of illegal immigrants in his recent comments where he inflated the percentage of Hispanic homicides in Salt Lake City. The nature of his comments are both prejudice and misleading, with his assumption that those homicides were committed by undocumented people was disingenuous.
Utahns are rightly concerned about immigrants that don’t follow the rules, but passing similar legislation at this time isn’t good for Utah’s law enforcement community. Measures like those passed in Arizona will face legal challenges and will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend in court. Arizona passed the law -- let Arizona pay the costs of this fight before we decide to put more lawyers to work on our dime.
Another unfunded state mandate on local law enforcement is not a solution. Last month, the legislature’s continued refusal to support local law enforcement forced the Weber County Sheriff to release over 40 inmates before the completion of their sentences. Adding immigration enforcement to already strained police and correctional duties will result in additional early prisoner releases. Local law enforcement needs adequate funding, not another unfunded mandate.
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