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SALT LAKE CITY -- The man who wrote Senate Bill 81 says he's got no problem with departments opting out of parts of the new law, but he says there are other parts that just aren't optional.
Retired Sen. Bill Hickman, St. George, says he knew cross-deputizing as immigrations agents wouldn't be for everyone. That's why it's considered optional. And he knows money's tight for everyone in Utah, not just the Utah Highway Patrol.
"They may feel like their resources should be spent in other areas," he said, "and that's a decision that highway patrol management could make."
But he says the argument that SB81 encourages racial profiling is an excuse in his opinion, pointing out that border patrol agents would be guilty of it daily under that line of reasoning.
Related:
UHP won't cross-deputize troopers for immigration law
The Utah Highway Patrol does not want to take advantage of a program to cross-deputize troopers as immigration agents."I think the vast majority of the citizens of this state want that law enforced," he said, adding that if someone is in the country illegally, they have already broken the law and are therefore guilty of a crime.
Earlier this month, Salt Lake City police chief Chris Burbank told KSL's Doug Wright, "When you start wandering into the area that law enforcement should take biased, racially motivated enforcement actions, there's 10 other places in the law that say we shouldn't do that."
Kanab Republican Mike Noel sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives. He told KSL at the time that racial profiling was not the intent of the law.
Senate President Michael Waddoups tells KSL he still expects state officers to enforce state laws. "I do believe they have the option to opt out on cross-deputization," he said.
He doesn't believe SB81 requires racial profiling. "We're not in the business of just going after someone just because they happen to be of a different ethnic origin than perhaps some of us in the state. We're in the business of trying to enforce the state laws and make sure that we don't have threats to our citizens through illegal drug trade or various crimes," Waddoups said.
He, like Hickman, would like to see the act get more funding as the economy continues to recover.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
