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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Legislature has approved spending $891,000 to create a strike force that would focus on combatting violent crimes and other major felonies associated with illegal immigration.
House Bill 64, sponsored by Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, won final approval in the House and Senate Wednesday. It would authorize the Utah attorney general's office to coordinate the force, which would include multiple local law enforcement agencies.
Federal immigration and customs officers would also be allowed to participate in the strike force.
Dee's bill also calls for creating a fraudulent documents identification unit within the attorney general's office.
The bill now advances to the governor.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)