Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Utah Senate passed HB226, enabling deportation of immigrants convicted of serious crimes.
- A poll shows 89% of Utahns support deporting unauthorized immigrants who committed crimes.
- Debate continues on HB226's impact on legal immigrants and family separation concerns.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate voted with the House on Thursday to partially reverse a 2019 criminal sentencing law that some Republicans said has made the state a "magnet" for illegal immigration.
The bill, HB226, would remove impediments for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to immediately deport immigrants convicted of dangerous crimes, according to the bill's proponents.
But it would target immigrants who are otherwise legally present in the state, the bill's critics said during a contentious floor debate on Thursday.
By increasing the maximum jail time for certain class A misdemeanors back to 365 days from 364 days, HB226 would enable judges to trigger a federal policy that makes noncitizens — regardless of residency status — immediately deportable if they are convicted of crimes with a sentence of at least one year.
Increased enforcement of this deportation policy under President Donald Trump appears broadly popular among Utahns, according to a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll.
Do Utahns support the deportation of criminals?
The poll, conducted in late February by HarrisX among 805 registered voters, found that 89% of Utahns, including 95% of Republicans and 72% of Democrats, support the deportation of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. who have committed crimes.
A majority, or 57%, of Utah voters said they support the deportation of all unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., whether or not they committed a crime after entering the country, while 38% were opposed.
The mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants was supported by 7 out of 10 Republicans and opposed by 7 out of 10 Democrats in the state.
Survey data and immigration court filings suggest there are at least 145,000 unauthorized immigrants in Utah.
The poll found that Utahns are much more hesitant to support the deportation of unauthorized immigrants when they consider their likely family connections.
When asked whether there should be exceptions to deportation policies, 69% of Utahns said unauthorized immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens should be exempt, 45% said that unauthorized immigrant mothers of citizens should be exempt and 45% said unauthorized immigrants who are children under the age of 18 should be exempt.
While debating HB226, floor sponsor Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, and Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, disputed whether the bill marked a departure from the Utah Compact on Immigration, an agreement that immigration policy must promote the rule of law and avoid separating families.
"This is a huge policy change that I don't think matches what the Utah Compact said about Utah welcoming the world," Escamilla said. "My biggest concern is, what's going to happen to a family that has been here — they own property, a home, they're working, they're legally here."
Should Utah law enforcement aid ICE with deportations?
Central to Thursday morning's debate was whether HB226 violated the due process of legal immigrants by making them subject to immediate ICE deportation, while not changing the policy for immigrants who entered the country illegally and who are already eligible for deportation proceedings.
Defenders of the bill made the case that if noncitizens are committing serious crimes then they should not remain in the country.
"I recognize as well that it does affect those that are legally here working but that's why we went and narrowed it like we did," Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, said.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, would increase the maximum class A misdemeanor sentence to 365 days only for offenses against an individual , which include child abuse, sexual misconduct and threats against law enforcement.
Pierucci's bill would codify law enforcement practices of coordinating with federal immigration authorities before releasing an unauthorized immigrant convicted of these crimes to ensure they are not returned to Utah communities after their sentence is complete.
The Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that 80% of Utah voters, including 91% of Republicans and 54% of Democrats, think local law enforcement should help deport immigrants who have committed crimes in addition to crossing the border illegally.
Another 56% said local law enforcement should help ICE deport immigrants who are in the country illegally, but who have committed no additional crime. This broader mandate was supported by 71% of Republicans and opposed by 71% of Democrats.
In addition to outlining coordination requirements between police and ICE, HB226 would also require law enforcement to submit the immigration status of arrested individuals to courts and would give judges the presumption that individuals are considered a flight risk for bail if they are not lawfully present in the country.
"We know that federal policy is broken," McCay said. "The question is, is there a way that we can take this magnet status away for illegal immigration to avoid some of the cost?"
