July 18, 2009


Community updated on SB81

BY KEVIN JENKINS


ST. GEORGE - Com-munity members concerned about the impact of Utah's anti-illegal immigrant legislation attended an informational meeting Friday directed by a nonprofit organization based in Salt Lake City.

Isabel Rojas, program coordinator for Comunidades Unidas and the Utah Immigrant and Refugee Integration Coalition, said members of Utah's minority communities have reacted with concern over implementation of Senate Bill 81 and House Bill 64 on July 1.

The first law attempts to deal with various social effects of illegal immigration, and most notably provides for the cross-training of local law enforcement agencies to assist federal immigration authorities.

The second authorizes the Office of the Attorney General to direct a strike force to combat violent crimes associated with illegal immigration and human trafficking.

"That's a good thing," Rojas said of HB64. "We don't know why we need the other one."

Rojas said that most of the provisions of SB81 don't change the way immigration laws are enforced, although minorities have been fearful about consequences of the legislation.

Rojas said Washington County and Weber County are the only ones in the state thus far to have entered into memorandums of understanding that provide training for local authorities to work with ICE on immigration matters.

"In Washington County, I don't see a tremendous impact from SB81," said St. George attorney Jason Velez, who fielded questions about technical aspects of immigration law.

"This (law enforcement method) has been going on for years," he said.

In an interview prior to the July 1 implementation of the laws, Lt. James Van Fleet (who was a sergeant at the time) of the St. George Police Department said the police department regards the county jail's trained deputies as the most effective way to manage local immigration issues and that police officers will not be cross-deputized.

"We're not going to stop every person we feel might be illegal. We're not going to stop them if they're walking down the road if they're not doing anything suspicious," Van Fleet said. "But we will if they're doing something suspicious or something other people feel is suspicious."

Hispanics comprise 30 percent of the state population, but Comunidades Unidas has also been invited to present forums on the laws in Utah's Pacific islander communities, she said.

The meeting was in English, but a meeting today will address questions from Spanish-speaking members of the community.

"Our position is not to debate whether SB81 is good or bad. The office is simply there to direct folks to get correct information," said Jesse Soriano, the director of the state Office of Ethnic Affairs, which funded Comunidades Unidas' visit to Southern Utah.

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