Court hearing planned for Utah's immigration law

winonadailynews.com
Associated Press
Posted: Friday, February 17, 2012 9:06 am

Eight months after Utah's immigration enforcement law was put on hold by a federal judge, attorneys on both sides will have an opportunity on Friday to argue the constitutionality of the measure.

The law created by House Bill 497 would have allowed police to check the citizenship of anybody they arrest. It was initially blocked last May by U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups, 14 hours after it went into effect. At the time, Waddoups pointed at similarities to a contentious Arizona law that is bound for the U.S. Supreme Court and said there was sufficient evidence that at least some parts of the Utah law would be found unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union and National Immigration Law Center sued a week before the law went into effect to stop the implementation of House Bill 497, saying it could lead to racial profiling. The U.S. Justice Department joined the lawsuit in November, claiming the measure usurped federal authority.

Lawyers for the Utah attorney general's office have maintained the law is constitutional because it doesn't allow police to check the citizenship of everyone they encounter. They argue lawmakers worked to avoid the constitutional pitfalls of the Arizona law and passed a significantly different bill.

The Utah law, signed in March by Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, would require police to check the citizenship status of anyone arrested on suspicion of a felony or class-A misdemeanor, while giving officers discretion to check the citizenship of those stopped for traffic infractions and other lesser offences. Class A misdemeanors include theft, negligent homicide and criminal mischief, while felonies range from aggravated burglary to rape and murder.

Herbert has maintained the law will eventually be found constitutional.

Utah lawmakers passed a package of immigration bills last year, including HB 497 and another bill that will allow illegal immigrants to live and work in the state if they haven't committed other crimes, have steady employment and pay taxes. That law takes effect in 2013 and the state is working with federal officials in an attempt to secure a waiver.

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Josh Loftin can be reached at Josh Loftin (@joshloftin) on Twitter

Read more: Court hearing planned for Utah's immigration law

bloomberg.com
By Andrew Harris and Shelley Osterloh -
Feb 17, 2012 10:54 AM ET

A Utah law requiring police to verify the immigration status of people arrested on felony charges violates the American Constitution and must be blocked, the U.S. Justice Department said.

That measure was included in a package of four bills signed into law last year by Governor Gary R. Herbert as parts of a legislative package he then called “the Utah solution” to illegal immigration issues.

Justice Department lawyers in a hearing today are asking U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups in Salt Lake City for an order temporarily blocking the status verification law and two other statutes they say conflict with the constitutional powers of the federal government.

“In our constitutional system, the power to regulate immigration is exclusively vested in the federal government,” the U.S. argued in court papers. “The state of Utah has crossed this constitutional line.”

Attorneys for the federal government are also asking Waddoups to block enforcement of measures authorizing police to arrest without a warrant people they believe are subject to the removal order of an immigration judge and making it a felony to encourage or induce an illegal alien to enter or settle in Utah.

Civil Rights

The U.S. filed its lawsuit in November, six months after a legal challenge was first lodged by a Latino civil rights advocacy group, Utah Coalition of La Raza. Waddoups ordered the two cases consolidated a week later.

Lawyers for the state argue the U.S. is mischaracterizing the legislation known as HB 497 and say it’s consistent with congressional mandates and constitutional.

“This issue is neither difficult nor complicated,” the state’s attorneys told Waddoups in a Jan. 17 submission.

“There are those who will say these bills may not be perfect, but they are a step in the right direction and they are better than what we had,” Herbert said in a statement after signing the legislation on May 15.

His act and immigration laws enacted by the governors of Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina have all been challenged by the U.S. government.

The U.S. Supreme Court in December said it would review a San Francisco-based federal appeals court’s 2011 ruling that barred enforcement of an Arizona law requiring police to check immigration status when they stop or arrest a person they have reasonable suspicion to believe is in the country illegally.

Common Border

While Utah and Arizona share a common border, the states lie in different federal appellate court regions.

An Atlanta-based appeals court on March 1 will hear argument on state and federal government challenges to a Sept. 28 ruling by U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn in Birmingham, Alabama, blocking parts of package of immigration control measures signed into law by Governor Robert Bentley.

A federal judge in South Carolina, Richard M. Gergel, in December blocked enforcement of a law in that state which would require police officers suspecting somebody of unlawfully being in the U.S. to check their legal status.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s administration is appealing Gergel’s decision to the regional U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Empowered States

Congress has empowered the states to communicate and cooperate with one another and with the federal government on immigration enforcement efforts, Utah’s attorneys said in court papers arguing the U.S. bid for injunctive relief should be denied.

“HB 497 reflects Utah’s attempt to undertake its supporting role in the fight against illegal immigration, within the parameters set by Congress,” Utah’s lawyers have told Widdoups. “HB 497 does not conflict with Congress’ mandate, but is entirely consistent with it.”

The case is Utah Coalition of La Raza v. Herbert, 11-401, U.S. District Court, District of Utah (Salt Lake City).

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Harris in Chicago at aharris16@bloomberg.net; Shelley Osterloh in Salt Lake City at Shelley.osterloh@gmail.com.

Utah Immigration Laws Must Be Blocked, U.S. Tell Judge - Bloomberg

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Judge Delays Decision on Utah's Immigration Law

By JOSH LOFTIN Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY February 17, 2012 (AP)

A federal judge said Friday he will decide within the next few days whether to allow Utah's immigration enforcement law to go into effect or delay his decision until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a similar law in Arizona.

If U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups decides to wait, the law created by House Bill 497 will remain on hold for about another six months. It was first blocked by Waddoups eight months ago, 14 hours after it went effect.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments about Arizona's contentious enforcement law in April and is expected to issue a ruling in June. Waddoups said that ruling could provide some guidance about the constitutionality of Utah's law, which would allow police to check the citizenship of anybody they arrest but doesn't require police to check the citizenship of everybody they encounter.

Arguments during the lengthy and often technical hearing Friday focused mostly on whether the state was usurping federal authority over immigration. Civil rights groups also claim the law violates constitutional protections against unlawful searches and arrests.

Waddoups pressured state attorneys to explain how Utah can justify reaching beyond existing federal laws to make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to enter the state. U.S. Justice Department attorneys, meanwhile, were pressed about what would stop the state from requesting information about a person's immigration status.

Justice Department attorney Josh Wilkenfeld said Utah was attempting to trump federal law by mandating that police officers check the immigration status of anybody booked into jail. He said similar laws in four other states — Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina — have already been struck down by federal judges.

"Cooperation is on federal terms, not as the state defines it," Wilkenfeld said.

Utah's law is much different than the Arizona measure because it gives more discretion to police officers and doesn't allow suspected illegal immigrants to be detained indefinitely, Utah Assistant Attorney General Barry Lawrence said. Instead, the law simply reflects existing federal law and is only meant to ensure that the state can account for criminals who are also illegal immigrants, he said.

"This is not anywhere as invasive as people fear," Lawrence said. "The basic goal is to stop people from committing crimes in the state and quantify how many of those crimes are being committed by illegal aliens."

About 50 people protested the enforcement law outside of the courthouse, and one person was escorted from courtroom after he held up a sign opposing the law.

The American Civil Liberties Union and National Immigration Law Center sued a week before Utah's law went into effect to stop the implementation of House Bill 497, saying it could lead to racial profiling. The Justice Department joined the lawsuit in November, claiming the measure usurped federal authority.

The Utah law, signed in March by Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, would require police to check the citizenship status of anyone arrested on suspicion of a felony or class-A misdemeanor, while giving authorities discretion to check the citizenship of those stopped for traffic infractions and other lesser offenses. Class A misdemeanors include theft, negligent homicide and criminal mischief, while felonies range from aggravated burglary to rape and murder.

Herbert has maintained the law will eventually be found constitutional.

Utah lawmakers passed a package of immigration bills last year, including HB 497 and another bill that will allow illegal immigrants to live and work in the state if they haven't committed other crimes, have steady employment and pay taxes. That law takes effect in 2013 and the state is working with federal officials in an attempt to secure a waiver.

Judge Delays Decision on Utah's Immigration Law - ABC News