3 get-tough measures on immigration fall short

No action was a relief for immigrant rights activists who saw this session as a victory, as three bills aimed at getting tough on illegal immigration died in the House of Representatives.

Activists against illegal immigration say it was a missed opportunity to end practices they see as encouraging illegal immigration, and in some cases, discriminating against U.S. citizens.

A bill to stop providing undocumented immigrants in-state tuition seemed to have strong support after the House Education Committee voted 9-5 to send it to the floor for debate.

But the legislation stalled. Near the bottom of a long list of bills scheduled for a hearing, HB7 was eventually sent back to the Rules Committee, where it stayed. And the only vote for a substitute version to grandfather in an estimated 169 undocumented students already enrolled in Utah colleges was a 35-34 decision to just return it to Rules.

It was the third time that Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, had attempted to repeal the 2002 law allowing undocumented students who have lived in Utah for three years and graduated from high school pay in-state tuition.

Donnelson expressed frustration with federal lawmakers' inaction on immigration.

"All we're doing is encouraging them to break the law," he said. "We're trying to get to the point where we can help them legally."

The debate on HB7 centered around whether Utah is at risk for a lawsuit by offering the benefit. The Utah Attorney General's Office maintains the state is abiding by federal law, but an attorney involved in litigation over two other states' similar statutes said otherwise. So did a handful of Utah students paying out-of-state tuition who are considering a lawsuit here.

Meanwhile, two other immigration bills — both sponsored by Donnelson — didn't make it past the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee.

The committee tabled HB64, which would have repealed the driving privilege cards that lawmakers approved last year as a compromise that allowed illegal immigrants to drive, but not to have valid state identification.

Then, the committee failed to act on HB179, which was aimed at curbing identity theft by requiring that all employers verify new hires' Social Security numbers.

Donnelson said he hopes to work during the interim with the Attorney General's office and businesses to come up with workable identity theft legislation.

"It's going to get worse and worse and worse," Donnelson said. "Social Security verification is just the beginning."

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com