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At least 2 state employees compiled immigrant list, Gov. Gary Herbert says

Why does the state have a list of illegal aliens who are using food stamps and do nothing about this information. The problem seems to lie with Gov. Herbert and state officials who protect illegals, not with the whistle-blowers.

The law is the law: Prosecute to the full extent the government employee(s) who broke privacy laws in obtaining and releasing personal info from the DWS database. And the law is the law: Prosecute to the full extent each every person on that list that is in the US illegally.

Herbert,

Law abiding citizens are a lot more concerned about prosecuting and deporting ILLEGAL ALIENS than we are about accessing information for "the list." We are tired of having to pay to support ILLEGAL freeloaders!

Utah

If these two people did create and release this list- they should be deported. Why does Cawley want to protect some criminals and not others? Cawley has claimed that illegal immigrants are criminals and yet he wants these two people- who violated the law- to be exempt from their criminal activities. Ultra-conservative hypocrisy is awesome.

@chria8484

The answer to your question--because the list wasn't a list of actual illegal aliens. They gathered a list of hispanic sounding names, some legal residents, some US citizens. It is posible some names are illegally here because they didn't file when they turned 18, but all reports so far suggest otherwise.

The whistle-blowers lied. They are going to face the music for stealing government information.

I'm sure a number of State and Federal laws were broken in the haste to point fingers at these unfortunate victims:
1. Publicizing Social Security numbers is a Federal crime.
2. Publicizing personal data about minors is a State crime.
3. Publicizing personal data about citizens (including children born in the U.S.) is a State and possibly a Federal crime.
4. Publicizing information obtained through confidential process is a State crime.

Those that committed these crimes should be prosecuted to the extent of the laws. Their deeds cannot be undone. The list has been distributed to a number of news sources and is therefore public information. These criminals are not "Patrots" as some are calling them, any more than those that break and enter and steal your property.

The State of Utah needs to back up Arizona and the other 9 states that are following and do something about this issue. Enough is enough. If the State of Utah is aware of illegals then they should do something about it. What does the government not understand with the word "illegal"? Illegal is illegal. If we prosecute people for other illegal acts then we should be doing the same thing for illegal immigration. Props to all those fighting for the rights of "legal" citizens and those waiting in line to become citizens.

The state is willing to investigate and prosecute the people who created the list, but unwilling to investigate and prosecute those who are here illegally. Something is sick in America. It won't last.

I say give the two state workers promotions and raises.

The GOVERNMENT should follow the LAW and DEPORT THE ILLEGALS! It is shameful that the State has easy access to a list of ILLEGALS in their own databases and does nothing about it. ENFORCE THE LAW (Burbank and Shirtliff). What if all of us started ignoring laws that we didn't like? If you don't like it the work to change it.

Give those two workers a promotion. Create a department for them to track down illegals to send home. Why is the Governor looking to prosecute people who should be given a medal. Where will all this end. Why do liberals want to destroy this state and country? Send the illegals home so they can build up, pay taxes in their own country. Why would they want to stay here as non-citizens, with no rights. And we here need to hire Americans because if you haven't noticed, we have a problem here. Its irrelavant that they are such hard workers, and such nice people, they are illegal, and don't belong here. It's sad that it is hard to support their families in mexico, but what will change that? They need to go home and change things there. We don't need change here. We need our jobs back, and our taxes back, and our country back. Close the border and put one-way doors that swing out. If they want to come back, go through the well designed ,properly functioning, system that is already in place that screens and prepares good people to become Americans.

I don't think private information should be taken and used like this.
But why are illegal immigrants using our precious tax dollars. I know we have thousands of people coming into the United States from Mexico every day. I wonder since it is so bad there, why can't the citizens in Mexico put major effort into changing things there? Many people here in the United States have given their lives over hundreds of years to make our Country the way it is. Maybe that is what is needed there. I don't think lives lost is a minor thing. I am so grateful for all the men and women who have given their all for our Country and for freedom around the world.

Is it against state law to register for state assistance if you are a foreign national?

The Governor and Attorney General should be going after the illegals not the whistle blowers.

The individuals who created the list might not criminals. There is a whistle- blower defense in the privacy law stating if the individual who violates the law believes he or she is exposing government corruption, then they are protected.

chris8484, you want to uphold the law where it concerns illegal immigrants but then give the so-called whistle blowers a pass for breaking the law, making you no better than those who won't prosecute illegal immigrants. Don't forget that the "whistle-blowers" were illegally accessing the files of tens of thousands of legal Utah residents in order to compile their list. That is why they need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, then the state needs to ask why the state is providing services to illegal immigrants when it is not legal to do so.

As FatMountainMan said, the law is the law, and nobody should be above it.

It is a shame that individuals have to stoop to releasing a list of illegal immigrants to try and put pressure on the government to do their job. And it is a bigger shame that the government has this list and does nothing about it. Who is the real criminal here?

@ FatMountainMan | 11:00 a.m.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Unfortunately, I predict that all we're going to see is backlash against the government employees.

The rule of law is vital to the survival of our republic. Arbitrarily not enforcing certain laws because they are unpopular (also known as the rule of men, not the rule of law) leads to mobocracy and/or vigilante behavior. I'm not excusing the actions of the government workers...just explaining it. The government workers should be prosecuted, just as any other law breaker should.

I have an idea...how about equal justice under the law for all individuals.

"Equal laws protecting equal rights; the best guarantee of loyalty and love of country." --James Madison

These two government employees have more brass than anyone else in government. They should be given a raise and promoted! Our elected officials tinker around the fringes of the law and give lots of lip-service but won't do anything about illegal aliens. Throw out all the spineless politicians and bring them to justice. These illegals who applied for aid are draining the country dry and these two heroes are just trying to bring injustice to light.

let's see.... working in terrible conditions in order to better one's life with out the proper papers: illegal. compiling a list by abusing your power (access) and making the list of private information public: illegal. "defending workers who released data, saying they are patriots and whistle-blowers who deserve praise and not criminal charges.": gestapo.

So does this mean that all "Whistle Blowers" are law breakers. how does that match with the law that protects the whistle blower? This is a little confusing...

How about we just enforce the law - all of them. Then we will not have a problem with being respecter of persons or their origins. Deportation of people here illegally is what the law calls for, as for the list makers, I imagine we will find out what the penalty is - to the fullest extent of the law. Just enforce the law - all of them.