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SALT LAKE CITY -- A House committee approved Rep. Stephen Sandstrom's enforcement-only illegal immigration bill Friday.
"We need a deterrent in the state of Utah," Sandstrom, R-Orem, told the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Standing Committee. "We have no deterrent right now."
After more than three hours of testimony, the committee voted 9-3 to move the HB70 to the House. Democrats cast the dissenting votes.
Proponents and opponents of bill had their first opportunity Friday to sound off on the controversial measure. More than 150 people crammed into a hearing and an overflow room for a nearly 3-hour hearing under the watchful eye of several Utah Highway Patrol troopers.
The bill requires police officers to verify the legal status of people detained for class A misdemeanor and felony offenses if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" they are in the country illegally. Officers would not have to check the status of those suspected of class B and class C misdemeanors, but could if they chose to.
It bases "reasonable suspicion" on the absence of a Utah driver's license or other valid forms of government-issue identification, including a concealed weapons permit.
Sandstrom brought five people, including leaders of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration and Utah Eagle Forum, to testify in favor of the bill. They related anecdotes about identity theft and illegal immigrants taking Americans' jobs. Nearly all of the questions about the bill came from Democratic committee members.
Seven of the 13 members House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee have signed on as co-sponsors of HB70. One of them, Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said Utah needs to act.
"I think (doing) nothing is a very poor way forward," he said.
Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, said the law wouldn't push illegal immigrants out of Utah because it's nothing more than a catch-and-release program. "We're putting forth this false perception that this is going to solve something. It is not."
Sutherland Institute executive director Paul Mero called the bill a "civil rights nightmare."
"It uses the illusion of law enforcement to simply hunt down a group of people we imagine are ruining our society," Mero said. "This bill would create a false positive in the minds of citizens."
Jim Wall, of the Salt Convention and Visitors Bureau, said HB70 is not in keeping with the Utah Compact, which encourages federal solutions and preserving families among other things.
Arturo Morales-LLan asked lawmakers to "validate the faith of your constituents" who want something done about illegal immigration.
"We need to take of our own people and help them find jobs," he said. "That's your duty."
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Story written by Dennis Romboy, with contributions from John Daley.
