Prior to the start of this legislative session, a group of republican lawmakers announced their intent to prioritize immigration reform and better align Utah’s immigration laws with the Trump administration’s vision for America. Immigration remained a contentious topic throughout the session, with several bills concerning refugee and undocumented immigrant rights either failing or heavily amended over the course of debate.
Debates, Revisions and Contentious Public Hearings
While original versions of several bills initially contained sweeping penalties for undocumented immigrants, debate and community pushback led to revisions limiting the scope and severity of bills such as S.B. 90, which was signed into law last week.
The bill’s original purpose “enhanced criminal penalties for a crime committed by an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States.” SB90 would sentence individuals found unlawfully present in the U.S. and guilty of any separate crime one degree more severe. The bill also jumped from misdemeanor to felony, changing a Class A misdemeanor conviction to a third-degree felony.
The bill generated early criticisms from both the community, which argued SB90, along with gun restriction bill H.B. 183 would effectively create a separate legal code for all undocumented immigrant, and other legislators, including Rep. Todd Weiler, chair for the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, who stated opposition to sentencing minimums on principle.
Professor of Law at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quiney College of Law, Matthew Tokson said it is possible that increased sentencing for unlawful presence in the U.S. could be legally justified.
“Maybe an analogy might be drawn to different crime levels assigned to offenders based on whether they’ve previously violated a certain law (i.e., in Utah, the level of disorderly conduct is determined based in part on whether you’ve been convicted of it before.) The law might be challenged as discriminatory based on status. I’d guess that such a challenge would fail in court, but it’s difficult to be certain,” Tokson said.
Legality aside, S.B. 90’s scope was significantly narrowed over the course of session. The version signed into law now instead “requires a mandatory jail sentence for certain drug and theft crimes committed under certain conditions and with specified prior criminal convictions.”
Bill sponsor, Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, stated the bill’s purpose was to stop organized crime in Utah by preventing undocumented cartel members from re-entering the U.S. following deportation. For those “clearly connected to organized crime, there’s a mandatory jail sentence. It’ll stop that revolving door,” he said.
Overturning Gov. Herbert’s Legacy
One of the legislative sessions most contentious bills was H.B. 226, introduced by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton. The bill upended a 2019 policy passed under former Gov. Gary Herbert, which lowered the maximum sentence for class A misdemeanors from 365 to 364 days, just below the threshold for automatic deportation by ICE for undocumented immigrants.
The original version of HB226 would have also dissolved nonprofit organizations found to have transported undocumented immigrants into Utah, adjusted bail conditions for undocumented immigrants, and required sheriffs to report the Department of Homeland Security any individual they suspected to be undocumented.
Some of the strongest critics of H.B. 226, including the ACLU took issue with the dissolution of non-profits, enforced racial profiling of individuals arrested, but not yet charged with any crime, and the broadness of deportation for any class A misdemeanor.
Following a failed vote in the Senate, Pierucci decreased the bill’s scope. The version signed into law last Monday removed all mention of nonprofits and narrowed sheriff reporting duties to only those charged with felonies and decisively determined to be unlawfully present.
The law now also outlines the specific misdemeanors capable of triggering automatic deportation. Such class A misdemeanors are now limited to assault, homicide, kidnapping, sexual offenses, genital mutilation, “propelling bodily substances” such as saliva or urine, hazing as in case of fraternity admissions, the surreptitious administration of certain substances, i.e. “roofying” and custodial interference.
Pierucci cited the recent influx of immigrants to Herriman, which lies in Pierucci’s district, as her inspiration for the bill. H.B. 226 will take effect on May 7.
