Utah bill aimed at criminal immigrants stalls amid worries about its impact on legal immigrants

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

A Utah measure meant to streamline deportation of certain criminal immigrants here illegally has stalled.
HB226 proposes increasing sentences for certain violent misdemeanors to align with federal deportation policies.
Critics, however, argue the measure could adversely impact immigrants here legally as well.

SALT LAKE CITY — A measure focused on deporting criminal immigrants in the country illegally has stalled amid concerns raised by several attorneys that its provisions could adversely impact legal immigrants, as well.

One key provision of HB226 would increase the maximum sentence in Utah for certain violent class A misdemeanors by one day, from 364 days to 365 days. This would align with federal immigration policy, which allows for the deportation of immigrants sentenced to jail terms of at least 365 days, thus enlarging the pool of deportable immigrants.

However, several critics testified against the measure on Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, and lawmakers ultimately voted 4-3 against a favorable recommendation, throwing its future in limbo. HB226, one of several measures proposed by GOP lawmakers to crack down on immigrants here illegally, passed in the Utah House on Feb. 12 in a 62-9 vote.

While not raising an issue with HB226's impact on immigrants here illegally, Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said her concern is the possible impact of the one-day sentence increase to legal permanent residents in the country. Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, and the HB226 sponsor acknowledged her point.

If a legal immigrant hits the 365-day mark in jail after committing one of the prescribed class A misdemeanors, "then yes, you could be deported. That is left up to ICE and Homeland Security," Pierucci said, referring to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Pierucci, however, also noted that the pool of crimes that the 365-day sentence would be applied to has been narrowed from an earlier version of HB226 to just the most violent of class A misdemeanors. They are defined in Title 76, Chapter 5 of Utah criminal code, as "offenses against the individual." Certain drunk-driving offenses are also included.

Jim McConkie, of the Refugee Justice League, which offers legal services to refugees in Utah, testified against HB226. He noted that the maximum term for class A misdemeanors was purposefully reduced by one day to 364 days by lawmakers in 2019. They were worried about the deportation threat refugees and other legal immigrants could face if charged with such crimes and jailed for 365 days or more.

The one-day reduction implemented in 2019 "meant that ICE just couldn't throw you in jail and then deport you without a hearing," he said. "It meant that if there was an extenuating circumstance, that you could have an attorney, and a judge would make that decision. It wouldn't be automatic based on a law."

Steven Burton, of the Utah Defense Attorney Association, suggested boosting the proposed penalty to 365 days on the applicable class A misdemeanors just for second or subsequent offenses. "If we make it so that there is a penalty of 365 on a second or subsequent offense, we're giving (first-time offenders) that first chance at redemption," Burton said.

Alyssa Williams, of Catholic Community Services, spoke out against an element of HB226 that would subject nonprofit organizations to fines of $10,000 if they are convicted of federal or state crimes related to human smuggling. The provision stems from worries that immigrant advocacy groups help transport immigrants in the country illegally from place to place.

Williams, however, said the federal and state laws referenced are "overbroad" and called for a closer look at the provision or its removal. Catholic Community Services offers legal help to immigrants, among other services. "So it would be nice if we just took that portion out ... so these nonprofits are not unfairly maligned for serving immigrants, and we don't have that chilling effect," she said.

HB226 would also require law enforcement to coordinate with federal immigration authorities before releasing an immigrant charged with a class A misdemeanor or a felony, among other provisions.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.