NILC Critique of New Utah Immigration Law

Utah Governor Gary Herbert today signed into law immigration measures that together create the nation’s most broadly sweeping state immigration enforcement scheme. Largely modeled on Arizona’s SB 1070, HB 497 requires police to interrogate individuals and verify their immigration status in a wide array of situations, promoting harmful and costly incentives for law enforcement to racially profile. The second bill, HB 116, attempts to create a “guest worker” program for undocumented workers currently in Utah. Below is a statement from Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, on HB 497 and HB 116:

 “Today, the first Arizona copycat legislation has been signed into law, and our fears of a patchwork immigration policy have been realized. While Utah policymakers may have been striving to develop a different approach to Arizona, the new laws unfortunately suffer from the same fatal flaw as Arizona’s SB 1070: they are fundamentally unconstitutional. Taken together, the laws signify an even more sweeping state takeover of federal immigration regulation.”

“We share Utah’s frustration with the federal government’s failure to create a functional immigration system. Decades of inaction in Washington have led states to attempt to come up with their own solutions. However, state-led attempts to regulate and enforce immigration law are a costly, ineffective, and often unconstitutional answer.

“One of the laws signed today correctly identifies immigrant workers as a vital part of Utah’s society and economy. However, states simply do not have the power to grant or deny work authorization to immigrants. Therefore, this law does nothing more than create false hope for immigrant workers in Utah, as they will not have a viable path to legal status under this law and will continue to be vulnerable to federal immigration enforcement measures as well as the new state enforcement scheme enacted through HB 497.

“The actions of lawmakers in Utah, Arizona, and other states threatening to follow down their path should serve as a clarion call to reluctant federal legislators to finally fix our broken immigration system. Our country needs federal policymakers to step up to the plate and get serious about enacting humane and functional immigration reform. Rather than marginalize immigrant communities and target people of color, states must focus on enacting laws that recognize immigrants’ contributions and build stronger and more inclusive communities.”

For a summary of the legislation, clcik here.  Download Utah-bills-analysis-2011-03[1]

KJ