Thread: UT-UHP boss: Troopers won't be immigration cops

UHP boss: Troopers won't be immigration cops
Legislation » Director said the patrol doesn't have enough resources to enforce immigration laws.
By Nate Carlisle


Updated: 04/16/2009 07:08:04 AM MDT


West Valley City » In what might be the most symbolic setback yet for the state's new immigration law, the director of the Utah Highway Patrol says troopers will not be certified as immigration agents.

"We are concerned about traffic safety and also ensuring that all people have a safe and secure environment in Utah," Utah Department of Public Safety Director Lance Davenport said Wednesday at a Latino town hall meeting here. "And that includes you."

Davenport's announcement means the state's two largest police agencies -- UHP and the Salt Lake City Police Department -- will not enforce immigration laws.

The third biggest -- the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office -- will enforce immigration laws only against inmates booked into its jail.

Davenport, whose job includes oversight of UHP, said the patrol does not have enough money and personnel to begin enforcing immigration laws. State budget cuts have already forced UHP to reduce the number of troopers, Davenport said.

"If [legislators] want us to do that, what we need is the resources," Davenport said.

A bill passed last year by the state Legislature, SB81, will go into effect on July 1, giving police agencies the option of enforcing federal immigration laws. Davenport's announcement puts UHP on a growing list of police agencies declining to have their officers enforce immigration laws.

But unlike local police departments, UHP's budget is set by the Legislature, whose conservative members have already criticized the Salt Lake City Police Department's refusal to enforce immigration laws.

Some local police departments have worried undocumented immigrants will be afraid to call police for help if the officers can arrest them for an immigration violation. Davenport said that was only a minor concern for UHP, whose mission is different than city police or county sheriffs.

SB81 also requires jails make a reasonable effort to determine the immigration status of inmates. Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder praised that aspect of the law.

"It should not matter if a bad man is Hispanic, Chinese or Italian," Winder told the few hundred people gathered at a Latino mall. "If you commit the crime you will go to jail. And under SB81 the bad man will be deported."

As for whether deputies and detectives on the street will enforce immigration laws, Winder said: "We're not going to do something that the law does not require us to do."

West Valley Police Chief Thayle "Buzz" Nielsen also said his department will not become immigration enforcers.

"We want to build a relationship so when you're victims of crime, you come forward," Nielsen told the audience.

ncarlisle@sltrib.com

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12152707?source=rss

But keep giving these troopers their pay check taxpayers. And when are Americans going to quit being profiled for tickets by police to pay for illegal in our local communities?

Utah in the pockett of La Raza, how sad!

Utah law enforcement delaying implementation of immigration law
By Rebecca Palmer



Published: Thursday, April 16, 2009 1:55 p.m. MDT
19 comments




WEST VALLEY CITY — Police officers in several Utah jurisdictions will not prosecute immigration violations, top cops told hundreds of Latinos packed into a shopping center Wednesday night.

Implementation of a voluntary portion of a new immigration law, the cross-deuptizing of police officers as immigration agents, will not be done by some of the largest municipalities in Salt Lake County, as well as Park City and the Utah Highway Patrol. Civil rights will be protected regardless of race, nationality or sexual orientation, Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank told the eager audience.

Burbank was flanked by police chiefs from Park City and West Valley City. A representative from Midvale also spoke, as did Utah Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake.

Municipalities won't jeopardize good relationships with Latinos over the state mandate, the local law enforcers said.

Utah Highway Patrol Col. Lance Davenport jumped into the fray, saying state troopers are responsible for traffic safety and don't get paid enough to enforce federal immigration law.

The assembled crowd was made up of families, teenagers, Latino business leaders and community activists. There were chairs enough for only about one-third of attendees; others were forced to stand on stairwells and line the balconies around the foyer of the Latino Mall at 2470 S. Redwood Road.

The new law is set to take effect July 1. It was passed in the 2008 General Session as SB81, and is a broad bill that addresses things such as the incarceration of illegal immigrants, the issuance of liquor licenses to illegal immigrants and the unauthorized transportation and harboring of illegal immigrants. It also addresses the establishment of a fraudulent documents identification unit and expands the scope of the state's employment status verification system.

Robles told the crowd they should immediately report civil rights violations and support police officers in creating safe communities. Speaking in Spanish, she also said Utah's governor and attorney general were open to talks concerning SB81.

The apprehensive audience was also encouraged to put aside fear and respect police officers because they put their lives on the line for the community.

E-MAIL: rpalmer@desnews.com




http://www.deseretnews.com/article/0,51 ... 14,00.html

This is insane. It is beginning to sound like Orwell's Animal Farm after the pigs took over, declaring: all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. Any law enforcement agency cannot and should not decide or pick and choose what laws they enforce and what laws are not to their liking. Laws have been passed, and taxpayers are paying your salaries, benefits and retirements for enforcing those laws.

Originally Posted by vortex

This is insane. It is beginning to sound like Orwell's Animal Farm after the pigs took over, declaring: all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. Any law enforcement agency cannot and should not decide or pick and choose what laws they enforce and what laws are not to their liking. Laws have been passed, and taxpayers are paying your salaries, benefits and retirements for enforcing those laws.

Agreed.

I'd gladly pay more to these officers to get these leeches deported asap. Our tax dollars are going to support IA's as it is now, why can they not go towards hiring more help to get them out???