Illegal immigration in cross hairs

A series of measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration are already working their way through the House. And now, those with a stake in the immigration debate are beginning to pore over a Goliath-size Senate measure.

Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, promised a comprehensive bill to address illegal immigration, and SB81, which was released Thursday, lives up to that promise. It impacts areas from public benefits to law enforcement to employment.

"It touches a number of things," Hickman said of the bill modeled after an Oklahoma law. "What we're trying to accomplish here is to enforce the laws. ... These laws are already on the books, federal and state."

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, on Thursday called immigration "probably the hottest issue this session" based on constituent response.

"This is a major topic," Valentine said. "People are really, really concerned. The federal government has failed us."

However, he said many of the bills being proposed are reactionary, such as repealing the driving privilege card, which is not included in Hickman's bill. Still, he did see validity in at least one idea — requiring an agreement for some Utah public safety officers to receive federal training to perform some immigration enforcement.

Many issues are addressed in both individual House bills and SB81, such as a proposed repeal of in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants and requiring a federal verification system for new hires by public employers. There are also unique provisions, including a class A misdemeanor for harboring, concealing or transporting illegal immigrants.

It also prevents undocumented immigrants from receiving identification cards, even from private entities. However, Hickman said it allows educational institutions to issue IDs for on-campus purposes and allows other such limited-use identification cards, he said.

It won't go so far as to deny, for example, a Costco card to an undocumented immigrant.

"That really isn't an ID document," Hickman explained. "It's just for admittance to Costco."

The bill was made public only Thursday, so most agencies and organizations were still trying to comprehend it fully.

Robin Riggs, vice president of the Salt Lake Chamber, said based on a preliminary review, "we will tend not to support Hickman's bill on its face.

"The Chamber would rather have Congress deal with this issue," he said. "In spite of the good intentions of legislators, we believe there will be unintended consequences, especially when you deal with the work force and economic growth."