Immigration bills winnowed to one

The 2007 legislative session started out with a slate of bills aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.

However, with just one bill alive at press time Wednesday, the heated debate surrounding the issue resulted in little action.

Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, sponsor of HB105, remained optimistic Wednesday that the bill would receive final approval, but it remained near the bottom of the list late Wednesday. The bill would allow some state law enforcement officers to receive training to enforce immigration laws during their normal duty.

"This would catch a lot of identity theft," Donnelson said. "This just gives officers another tool to do their job."

The bill would require the Department of Public Safety to enter into an agreement with the federal government for some officers to receive the training and give other law enforcement agencies the option. Donnelson has referred to the success of an existing similar program in Alabama.

However, in Utah the idea has drawn opposition from some law enforcement leaders, including Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank.

Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, said "a lot of people are afraid and concerned about what could happen if HB105 passes."

Overall, Yapias said there's a sense of relief that more of the bills introduced hadn't passed, including two measures to require employers to use a federal Internet-based system to verify the work eligibility of new hires.

And, after dodging two measures, undocumented immigrant students will continue to be able to pay in-state tuition under a 2002 law if they attended a Utah high school for three years and graduated.

"Our hope is that Congress will do their work so we won't have to see any more immigration bills in the future," Yapias said said.

Donnelson's fourth attempt at repealing the tuition law failed in a tied vote, and a motion to reconsider the bill failed.

Then the repeal resurfaced in HB437, sponsored by freshman lawmaker Rep. Christopher Herrod, R-Provo, which received a House committee hearing but never reached a floor debate. That bill would have barred undocumented immigrants from public services that aren't federally mandated.

HB437 had raised the concerns of a wide range of nonprofit organizations. Herrod said he's worked to address those concerns and will continue to work on the bill during the interim. Herrod said he also wants the attorney general to look into what federal exemptions exist for services to undocumented immigrants and that he wants to make sure all state agencies are following federal law.