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  1. #1
    Senior Member florgal's Avatar
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    Salt Lake City police, lawmaker at odds over illegal aliens

    Gee, you would think someone would spell check articles before publishing them......

    YOU CAN LEAVE COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE AT THE LINK

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    Salt Lake City police, lawmaker at odds over illegal aliens

    By Pat Reavy and Arthur Raymond

    Deseret News
    Published: Wednesday, April 8, 2009 7:13 p.m. MDT

    Saying it would have a "chilling impact" on the community and "drive a wedge" in it, Salt Lake police Chief Chris Burbank Wednesday said his department will not deputize officers for immigration enforcement, one of the voluntary parts of Utah's new immigration law that is set to take effect in July.

    "Salt Lake City is choosing not to participate in this. As outlined by law, we are allowed to do that," Burbank said. "The police officers of Salt Lake City are not going to be put in the position to violate the human rights of any person."

    Burbank defended his decision not to participate by speaking several times to the media Wednesday, including being a guest on KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright show.

    The problem, he said, is that deputizing officers as immigration agents is essentially asking police to place a certain segment of the population under extra scrutiny because of their skin color.

    "It's biased, racially motivated enforcement action," he said.

    Burbank said another concern was that innocent people would hesitate to call police for fear of deportation.

    Salt Lake police already hold illegal aliens for possible deportation if they are arrested for a felony, he said.

    The immigration law was passed in 2008 as SB81, but implementation was delayed until July 1 of this year. It is a broad bill that includes everything from the screening of potential state employees or anyone receiving public benefits for legal presence in the country to criminal punishments for anyone transporting or harboring illegal aliens.

    The cross-deputization of officers is also part of the bill, but is voluntarily coordinated between the Utah Attorney General's office and law enforcement agencies.

    Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, the House sponsor for the bill, said that Burbank's stance is not acceptable and threatened legislative action against the department.

    "I absolutely do not agree that they have the authority not to uphold this law," Noel said. "If they want to play hardball, we can do that. The first thing that comes to mind is jail reimbursement."

    House GOP leadership qualified Noel's comments later Tuesday, registering support for the provisions of SB81 but squelching the possibility of any punitive action involving jail reimbursement.

    "I certainly respect Rep, Noel's opinion, and he has been on the forefront of jail reimbursement issues," House Majority Whip Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace said. "In this particular area, however … as far as leadership would be concerned, there won't be any retribution."

    Dee, who co-chaired the legislative interim committee that spent most of last year studying provisions of SB81 in meetings held around the state, said he continued to be in support of the bill.

    Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said he also did not have a problem holding criminals in his jail who were also not legal citizens, but he was reserving judgment about whether to cross-deputize.

    Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is backing Burbank's stance, and said the cross-deputization program called for in SB81 works against local law enforcement efforts.

    "Police cannot deter or solve crime if victims and witnesses are afraid to cooperate with police because they might be deported," Becker said.

    Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, at a speaking engagement Wednesday at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, appeared to side with Salt Lake City officials when asked about the controversy.

    "I don't want to do it. No law enforcement agency wants their cops to be cross-deputized as ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcment) agents because then we can't attack the bigger problem of the felony crimes–the drug dealers, gang bangers, human traffickers who are also illegal aliens," Shurtleff said. "They're preying on the illegal immigrant population, the Lation population. We need the confidence of that community, the entire immigrant community, that if we come knocking on their door to investigate the more serious crime, they're going to open the door and talk to us and not close it because they think we're ICE aganets."

    Shurtleff said he expected a legal challenge to SB81 along the lines of a current challenge to Oklahoma immigration statutes that is scheduled for a May 4 hearing by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. (SB81 was fashioned, in part, on the content of the Oklahoma statutes being challenged.) He told KSL Radio Wednesday that in the event a preliminary injunction were filed against SB81, the prudent action would be to wait for a ruling in the Oklahoma case or federal action instead of spending taxpayer dollars.

    Two groups that have voiced opposition to SB81's mandates — the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah — essentially confirmed that lawsuit threat. Karen McCreary, the ACLU of Utah's executive director, said Wednesday that the legal aspects of SB81 have been under review since it's inception, and the AILA's executive committee vice chair, Jonny Benson, acknowledged that work is under way on framing a legal challenge, including filing to delay the law's implementation.

    CONTRIBUTING: Ben Winslow

    E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com; araymond@desnews.com

    http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7052 ... .html?pg=1

  2. #2
    Senior Member Paige's Avatar
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    All politics.
    <div>''Life's tough......it's even tougher if you're stupid.''
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  3. #3
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    for Chief Burbank, you can not chose what laws on the books to enforce and not enforce. your job and that of the officers below you are to provide for the safety of the community. Your job is not to overlook a law because you simply do NOT like it.

    IF you dont want to do your job, then you need to resign and let someone in office will WILL ENFORCE every law on the books, including illegal alien lawbreakers. possibly associated with gang members and mexican drug cartels who have operations in at least 230 american cities

  4. #4
    Senior Member Rockfish's Avatar
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    To: Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder

    Dear Sheriff,

    The Deseret News quoted Salt Lake police Chief Chris Burbank in saying "The police officers of Salt Lake City are not going to be put in the position to violate the human rights of any person."

    The 287g program has guidelines to keep racial profiling from happening. It is also very effective in curbing illegal aliens from residing in this country.

    Please don't let race become a platform for those who seek to break our laws by entering and residing in this country illegally. If we are to continue to look the other way..where will the line be drawn? No matter what the degree of the crime is, it is still breaking the law and these people who have broken into our country must pay for their crime. If we are a nation who is govened by the rule of law, then we must uphold the law. After all, I as an American citizen can not break the law simply because I want my family to have a better life. Neither should those who have entered this country illegally and then claim the same thing. The law should apply to all and not to one particular group.

    Thank you for your time, Sheriff Winder. Good day.
    XXX, Lilburn, Georgia
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    Salt Lake City Police Department
    Public Safety Building
    315 East 200 South
    Salt Lake City, UT 84111
    (801) 799-3000

    Salt Lake City Police Department
    Pioneer Precinct
    1040 West 700 South
    Salt Lake City, UT
    (801) 799-4600

    EMAIL ADDRESS
    slcpd@slcgov.com


    http://www.slcpd.com/contact/contactus.html

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