Thread: Bill addresses the serious crime associated with illegal imm

Bill addresses the serious crime associated with illegal immigration

SALT LAKE CITY -- A legislative committee has unanimously approved a bill allowing the creation of a multiagency task force to tackle serious crimes associated with illegal immigration.

House Bill 64, sponsored by Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace, allocates $891,000 in ongoing state funding to the Office of the Attorney General, which would administer and coordinate the strike force.

The force would consist of local and state law enforcement agencies working in concert with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement to battle crimes such as drug and human trafficking in the state.

Participation by various law enforcement agencies would be voluntary.

"We can get at most of our illegal immigration problems by tackling felony crime," Dee said. "This is really the biggest problem we have with immigration."

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said the failure of the federal government to address illegal immigration issues has placed increasing pressure on his office in recent years.

Shurtleff said the strike force would be modeled after other specialized units operating under his office, such as the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

"We already work consistently with ICE and other federal agencies in other areas," he said.

Some expressed concern that the strike force would be used against people who are in the state illegally, but have otherwise not committed a crime.

"Without specific limitations and guidelines, this will be going after people who are just trying to make a living for their families," said Joshua Clark, a student and member of the Social Justice Scholars at the University of Utah.

Shurtleff said the task force would focus on violent crime and felony white-collar crimes.

"We have to work with other undocumented aliens because generally, they're the victims of crime by other aliens," he said. "If they see us as just ICE agents, they're not going to cooperate with us. We need to work with them and gain their trust."

A comprehensive immigration bill passed last year includes a provision allowing local and state law enforcement officers to become cross-deputized as ICE officers, but Shurtleff said there has been little interest so far.

Dee, who co-chaired an interim task force on immigration policy, said HB 64 is one of the few areas where there has been widespread agreement.

"I think we all agreed we could target this with a very narrow, focused approach."

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"We have to work with other undocumented aliens because generally, they're the victims of crime by other aliens," he said. "If they see us as just ICE agents, they're not going to cooperate with us. We need to work with them and gain their trust."

A comprehensive immigration bill passed last year includes a provision allowing local and state law enforcement officers to become cross-deputized as ICE officers, but Shurtleff said there has been little interest so far.

No Amnesty to Law Breakers