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- Utah immigrant advocates gathered Wednesday to express opposition to the Trump administration's focus on mass deportations.
- Speakers emphasized immigrants' economic contributions and called for immigration reform and a more compassionate view of immigrants.
- The immigration crackdown, they said, has prompted fear in the community.
SALT LAKE CITY — A cross section of immigrant advocates in Utah came together Wednesday to sound a multipronged message of support for the community amid the Trump administration's aggressive push against immigrants here illegally.
"Immigrants are part of Utah's heart and soul," said Liliana Bolaños, immigrant families policy analyst at Voices for Utah Children. "These are our neighbors, our co-workers, and for many of us, they are the families we interact with every day."
The speakers — a pastor, school district employee, attorney and others — variously touted the economic contributions of immigrants, including those here illegally, and denounced the fear the immigration crackdown has prompted in the community. They pressed for immigration reform and called for a halt to President Donald Trump's push for mass deportations.
More broadly, they painted a picture of immigrants as contributing to the country in contrast to the image conveyed by the Trump administration and its backers, who emphasize the criminal misdeeds of immigrants here illegally and the public resources they sap.
Bob Babcock, who heads a law firm focused on the construction sector, said the construction industry employs the largest bloc of immigrants of the varied labor sectors. He praised their contributions.
"They pass the drug tests. They put in good work. They show up. I can't say that about ... all of the native-born younger folks who attempt to work in the workforce and quit because it's too tough," he said. The immigrant workforce "shows up and works."
Linda Stone, senior director at MomsRising in Utah, a national coalition of women and mothers, sounded a message directed to Utah leaders. MomsRising and Voices for Utah organized Wednesday's press conference, held at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City.
The decisions lawmakers face on the immigration question "aren't just policy decisions, they are moral ones. That's why we're calling on Utah elected officials to reject these harmful anti-immigrant actions," she said. "Instead, we ask them to invest in what truly strengthens Utah — education, health care and economic opportunity for all families. We have a choice. Let's choose compassion over cruelty."
Gov. Spencer Cox and other Republican leaders in the state have expressed support for more aggressive action against immigrants here illegally with criminal backgrounds. It was a priority issue for Utah lawmakers during the 2025 session, who passed several bills — signed into law by Cox — largely aimed at the criminal immigrant population.
By contrast, those taking part in Wednesday's press conference put the focus on otherwise law-abiding immigrants, including those here illegally, who are productive members of the community. Some 300,000 immigrants live in Utah, Bolaños said, and the subset within that group of immigrants here illegally paid more than $235 million in state and local taxes in 2022.
Some of the speakers also stressed the importance of compassion, some drawing from Christian principles.
"I follow a God who demands in our scriptures, over and again, to welcome the stranger and the foreigner, to show hospitality to the immigrant and refugee," said Rev. Brigette Weier of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Taylorsville. "And these words are not up for debate, (nor) do they come with any conditions of paperwork."
Among the specific calls were Bolaños' push for an end to the focus on mass deportations. "Although we do believe that dangerous criminals should be deported, when there are efforts focused in mass deportations, that's where it gets really big and really messy, and innocent people are deported," she said.
Babcock called for a reaffirmation of 2010's Utah Compact, which outlines a more compassionate approach in contending with immigration and was inked by himself and numerous state leaders. He also called on federal lawmakers to pursue immigration reform, which has remained elusive for many years.
"Please, take steps to provide a legal pathway for those who are here," Babcock said.
He pointed out the "interesting dichotomy" of Cox's aspiration of building 35,000 new homes in the coming years to keep pace with demand and the preponderance of immigrants here illegally who labor in the construction sector. "We're facing a critical shortage of housing and a need for more housing, and yet we get the rhetoric of we want to deport all of the undocumented workers," Babcock said.
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Voces de Utah
Looking for more news from Utah's Latino community? Visit our Voces de Utah section for more stories, events and features.Stone said she'll be joining a contingent of MomsRising representatives from across the nation in Washington, D.C., next week to press against increased funding for deportation initiatives, a current focus of debate among federal lawmakers. She said MomsRising reps met with officials from the office of Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and plan to meet with reps from the offices of Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, as well. The three lawmakers are part of Utah's federal delegation.
"We're not going to be stopped," she said.
Underlying the push by the Trump administration to detain and deport immigrants here illegally has been widespread fear among many in the immigration community, a key focus of Wednesday's press conference.
Stone cited the case of neighbors in Herriman who stopped going to church due to fears of being detained by immigration authorities. A doctor in Utah County opted out of taking part in Wednesday's press conference, she said, due to concern the attention could spur a raid by immigration officials on her practice.
