Norbis Marquez says she's often mistaken for an undocumented immigrant, even though she's a legal resident of Utah. She's used to it, but she says it hurts her children more.

"People look at us like we're terrorists," said Marquez, 39, of Kearns.

She fears a driver's license bill awaiting Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s signature could make things worse.

Marquez was among hundreds of people who gathered downtown Monday for a protest march that ended in a candlelight vigil, hoping to persuade the governor not to sign SB227.

"We're going to have more separation among the people," Marquez said of the bill that would replace illegal immigrants' drivers' licenses with driving privilege cards that couldn't be used for identification.

Huntsman, who was out of town Monday, has said he supports the bill. Few protesters believed they'd be able to persuade the governor otherwise but said they wanted their voices to be heard.

"This is our last thread of hope," said Dan Cairo, 22, a junior at the University of Utah and a member of the Chicano/Chicana student group MECha, which organized the protest.

The bill was released along with a state audit that suggested Utah is being used as a portal for undocumented immigrants from other states to get drivers' licenses, that more than 300 people believed to be undocumented had registered to vote and that 14 of them had voted.

"Because of the mistakes of a few . . . thousands are going to be affected," Cairo said.

The protesters in the diverse group held their signs opposing SB227 so passing drivers could read them as the group marched downtown, starting from and ending in a candlelight vigil at the Salt Lake City-County Building, 400 S. State.

The protesters fear the bill could lead to racial profiling and discrimination against Latinos in general.

U. junior Jennifer Indo, 24, said the legislation equates to a "red tag."

"It marginalizes the Latino community even more," she said.

During legislative debates, supporters had said a coordinating clause with an unrelated bill would alleviate concerns about racial profiling. If both become law, HB223 would also give the cards to legal aliens who aren't work-eligible, such as those on student visas.

Speaking in Spanish, Ligia Zecena, editor of Nuestro Mundo magazine, told those at the vigil she spoke with the governor on Friday. She said Huntsman told her he'd study the bill before making a decision on whether to sign it. Huntsman understood that even though the card couldn't be accepted by government agencies for identification, banks could decide to accept them, Zecena said.

Robert Gallegos, president of RAZ PAC, said he hopes to schedule a meeting with the governor and other minority leaders before SB227 is signed. He said RAZ PAC is considering a lawsuit, based on constitutional concerns, if the bill becomes law.

"A judge will see if people paying taxes have a right to go to work," he said. "In one breath they say, 'illegal.' In the other breath, 'pay taxes.'"

A legislative review note attached to the bill says it "has not been determined to have a high probability of being held unconstitutional."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com