Senate Bill 81 – The Good, the Bad and What Citizens Can Do. SB-81 (2008 Session, but becomes effective July 1, 2009) Immigration Enforcement SB39 Amendments to SB81 SB40 Driving Privilege Card (Only illegal aliens will have a need for them) HB64 –(Substitute) Illegal Immigration Strike Force: H.B. 87 -- Identity Theft Amendment (Rep. Fisher, Julie) H.J.R. 25 -- Joint Resolution Urging Employers to Hire Only Individuals Who Are Authorized to Work in the United States (Rep. Herrod, C.) (passed the House 70 to 0 but was not voted on in the Senate) H.B. 339 --(2008 Session) Human Trafficking Amendments (Rep. Herrod, C.) Senate Bill 81 was passed during the 2008 Utah Legislative Session, however implementation was delayed until July 1st 2009. During this time a Legislative Interim Committee was appointed to hold hearings around the state for the purpose of gathering public input. The interim hearings were held in Logan, Park City, Richfield, St. George and at the Capitol in SLC. Most of these hearings were well attended. Logan was packed with illegal alien enablers. There were a lot of illegal immigration opponents at Park City. Few attended Richfield. St George turned out a lot of illegal immigration opponents. The citizens let the panel know that they disapproved of illegal immigration. You can listen to the audio of these hearings. Many felt that this was only a delay tactic and others hoped to weaken it even further, delay it, or get rid of it in the 2009 session. However, opponents of SB-81 were unable to weaken it, delay it, or prevent it from going into effect. Although, SB-81 is a relatively weak bill; advocates for illegal aliens continue to strongly opposed its and are threatening legal action to delay its implementation. A similar bill in Oklahoma had the employment verification provisions held up by a federal judge but the rest of the bill went into effect. A bill in Arizona that requires much broader employment verification was upheld and allowed to go into effect by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which is considered to be the most liberal in the nation. 09/18/2008 In a consolidated case involving challenges to the Legal Arizona Workers Act, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Arizona's new employment eligibility verification law. Plaintiffs' lawsuit against the Legal Arizona Workers Act had been dismissed and was appealed to the Ninth Circuit The Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision, rejecting the plaintiffs' claims that Arizona's law is pre-empted by federal law and that it denies employers procedural due process. Plaintiffs may choose to appeal the Ninth Circuit's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Legal Arizona Workers Act, which took effect on January 1, 2008, prohibits the employment of unauthorized foreign nationals in Arizona and requires all employers doing business in the state to verify the work authorization of all new hires using E-Verify. The law also specifies penalties for employers who knowingly employ unauthorized workers. First-time offenders may have their business licenses suspended, and a second offense can lead to permanent revocation of an employer's license to conduct business in the state. This year we are likely to hear a lot of complaining about SB-81, including a great deal of misinformation. We at UFIRE hope to provide you with the information you need so you will know when the illegal alien supporters are trying to mislead the public. The highlight provisions are below, and the link to the entire law is at the beginning of this page. Let’s take a look at the facts: Good: Verification of Immigration Status of certain inmates. Requires Sheriffs to verify the immigration status of individuals charged with a felony or DUI when held in a county jail for a period of time. Once it is discovered someone is an illegal alien, ICE can be called to take charge of the individual and when linked with the presumption of flight (see item 2 below) it will ensure that the illegal alien is still there when ICE finally gets there. Presumption of Flight. All illegal aliens charged with felonies and/or DUIs are presumed to be flight risks. Thus, it is now up to illegal aliens to prove that they are not a flight risk before being granted bail as opposed to the burden falling on the state as is now the case. This should make it much more difficult for illegal aliens to bail out and then flee the state which has occurred frequently in the past. Bad: Doesn’t Include Misdemeanors. SB81 does not require Sheriffs or those in charge of other holding facilities to verify the status of all individuals being held. Does not clearly define “a period of time” thus allowing certain Sheriffs to skirt around the verification requirement. Responsible for Implementing and Administering: County Sheriffs and county jail personnel. ICE for putting immigration holds on inmates. Utah Attorney General’ office to ensure that statute is followed. What You Can Do: Demand Action Now. Lines 86-104: 17-22-9.5. Requires that Sheriff’s determine the citizenship of persons in County Jails for felonies and DUIs and creates a presumption of risk of flight. a. Sheriffs can have their jail personnel verify the citizenship of all new inmates anytime they want. Tell your Sheriff, who is an elected official, that you want him to: 1) verify the citizenship of ALL new inmates regardless of what they are charged with and 2) to call ICE to pick up any inmate that is in the country illegally. b. ICE has a responsibility to deport individuals illegally in the United States and they should pay the costs of incarceration. If they are not doing this, call the local ICE office and your federal elected officials and demand that ICE does its job. Provide Ongoing Oversight. c. Ensure that as a minimum your county Sheriff fully complies with SB81’s requirements on verifying citizenship and on making illegal aliens prove that they are not a flight risk before granting bond. Lines 105-299. Section 32A-5-103 (#7 at the end) amended. Illegal aliens may not obtain liquor licenses for restaurants and cannot receive private club licenses. Responsible: Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission and citizen oversight. Lines 300-359 63-99a-101-102. Public entity issued ID Documents may only be issued to United States citizens, nationals or legal permanent resident aliens with certain exceptions. Good: Prevents public entities such as state and local governments, public universities and colleges, etc. from issuing identification document to illegal aliens. Requires that identification cards issued to legal residents expire on the date that the individual’s authorized stay in the United States ends or after one year if there is no definite end date. The cards must clearly indicate that they are temporary and show the expiration date. Requires that educational institutions issue identification cards only valid for use on their campuses and at their facilities. The statement of restricted use must be conspicuously printed upon the face of the identification document. SB81 allows Driving Privilege Cards (DPC) to continue to be issued to illegal aliens. However, with the passage of SB40, any DPC issued after January 1, 2010 will clearly identify the holder as being unlawfully in the United States, thereby, letting anyone (police officer, jailor, employer) seeing a DPC know that they are dealing with an illegal alien. (At the present time DPCs are issued to illegal aliens as well as legal residents on visas. Beginning January 1, the DPC will be restricted to illegal aliens only and legal residents will have their own temporary drivers licenses Bad: Private businesses and others will still accept restricted student identities or the DPC for identification. Law enforcement, employers, etc. will ignore legal status when a DPC is presented. Law enforcement will be free to do so. An employer who sees a DPC will be knowingly hiring an illegal alien and subject to severe federal penalties. Responsible for Implementing and Administering: Public entities issuing identity documents. Law enforcement, employers, etc. for recognizing the DPC as a clear identifier of unlawful status. Utah Attorney General’ office to ensure that statute is followed. What You Can Do: Provide oversight and demand that university ID cards be properly formatted and not be used for identification purposes beyond campus and university facilities. Educate employers that if they hire or continue to employ an illegal alien using a DPC issued after January 1, 2010 that they are knowingly employing an illegal alien and are subject to severe sanctions including fines and incarceration. Demand that when law enforcement sees a DPC that they further investigate to see if the individual is committing the felony of document fraud and/or identity theft since 75% of illegal aliens have fraudulent social security numbers. This is not profiling since the person presenting the DPC voluntarily obtained it and presented it to the officer with full knowledge that it identifies him/her as an illegal alien. Lines 360-425 Section 63-99a-103 requires all public employers and specified contractors to use a status verification system to verify the legal status of all new hires, as amended by SB39 in 2009. Good: Public Employers Must Verify Employment Eligibility of New Hires. Requires all public employers including departments, agencies instrumentalities and political subdivisions of the state (counties, cities, towns, special districts, school districts, universities, etc.) to verify the employment eligibility of new hires. Certain Contractors Covered. Contractors obtaining contracts under a request for proposals (RFP) process or as a sole source contract from a public employer are required to use a status verification system for new hires. Contractors and sub-contactors working for a covered contractor have to certify by affidavit that they have verified the employment eligibility of each new employee. Options of Verification Systems. Gives public entities the option of using any one of four approved systems – E-Verify, another federal system that is the equivalent of E-Verify, the Social Security Number Verification Service or other similar Social Security Administration system, or an independent third party system that is equally or more reliable than any of the three preceding systems. Bad: Many Contractors Exempt. Any contracts or purchase agreements that are done without RFPs are exempt thus many public employer contractors and vendors will be exempt. Does not cover private employers unless they have a covered contract with a government entity. Responsible for Implementing and Administering: Public employers for verifying legal status of all new hires. Contractors for verifying employment eligibility of new hire and for obtaining affidavits from sub-contractors. Utah Attorney General’ office to ensure that statute is followed. What You Can Do: Oversight – Employment Verification. Make sure your county, city or town, school district, local colleges and universities and all other public employers have a status verification system in place and are verifying the employment eligibility of all new hires. Oversight – Contractors. Make sure your county, city or town and especially your school district which routinely issues huge contracts are complying with the employment verification requirement. Advocacy for Employment Verification. Contact your chamber of commerce, local businesses, etc. and ask them to use E-Verify or a similar status verification program to protect our children from illegal alien driven identity theft and to reserve jobs for citizens and legal residents. Lines 426-499 63-99a-104 Verify legal status of applicants for public benefits. Good: Verify Legal Status of Individuals Applying for Public Benefits. Requires all agencies and political subdivisions of the state (counties, cities, towns) to verify the eligibility for the following benefits: a. Under 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1621 and 1611 any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government; and any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government. Bad: Many Exceptions. Exempts verification for any benefits that do not require legal status, assistance for emergency medical care, short-term, noncash, in-kind disaster assistance, soup kitchens, food banks, crisis counseling and intervention, short-term shelter, specified by the U.S. Attorney General, etc. etc. Excepts in-State Tuition for Children of Illegal Aliens. Allows students illegally to benefit from in-state tuition while working illegally and committing multiple felonies to obtain jobs with reputable employers (document fraud, perjury on I-9 forms, identity theft) in order to pay their tuition and living expenses. Responsible for Implementing and Administering: Agencies and Public Subdivisions of the State. (State agencies, counties, cities and towns.) What You Can Do: Oversight. a. Make sure that the state and your county and city or town fully implement and follow this statute. b. Ensure that benefit administering entities bring criminal charges against anyone knowingly and willfully making false, fictitious or fraudulent statements. c. Demand that to officials of any agency that does not follow this statute be held fully accountable. d. Ask to see the annual report that is provided to the government by state agencies and departments administering benefit programs. Lines 500-509 Fraudulent Documents Identification Unit. This Unit is now under the interagency strike force set up by HB-64 in 2009. Lines 510-540 76-10-2701. The Attorney General shall negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding for the enforcement of federal immigration and custom laws within the state by state and local law enforcement agencies. A unit of local government may not prohibit its law enforcement officials from cooperating with or providing information to federal immigration officials. Citizens can sue to force governments to cooperate with federal immigration officials as provided for in this statute. Good: Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws. State and local law enforcement officers authorized to enforce federal immigration laws have additional resources available to fight major illegal alien crimes such as gangs, drug cartels, document fraud rings and massive, felony identity theft. The only illegal aliens that should be concerned are those who are committing felonies. a. HB64 which authorize an interagency strike force will address the weakness of this bill and give law enforcement important tools, including direct ICE involvement.. Prohibits Sanctuary Policies. Prohibits local governments from passing ordinances or establishing policies that prohibits a law enforcement officer or local government official from cooperating fully with federal immigration officials. Empowers Citizens to Bring Legal Challenges to Sanctuary Policies. Citizens can file for a writ of mandamus to compel a noncompliant local or state government agency to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Bad: The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) negotiated by the Attorney General will be of little benefit except for the Utah Highway Patrol because the federal government requires MOUs with each individual law enforcement entity. In addition, there is an excessively long waiting list for the 287g program. Many law enforcement agencies refuse to participate in the program in order to maintain good relations with illegal aliens. They, therefore, will be turning a blind eye to the major felonies committed by most illegal aliens – document fraud, perjury on I-9 forms and identity theft. The cost of good relations with the illegal community will be obtained by sacrificing Utah men, women and children to illegal alien identity theft. Lines 543-577 76-5-308 and 76-5-309 Transporting and Harboring Illegal Aliens Good: Prohibits the transport of illegal aliens for commercial or private financial gain. Makes it unlawful to conceal, harbor or shelter illegal aliens for commercial advantage or private gain. Bad: Allows the transport of illegal aliens up to 100 miles without penalty. (This amendment was added by Representative McIff so farmers could move their illegal workers from place to place without fear of arrest). Requires that transport be knowingly and intentionally done. The Penalty in SB81 is only a class A misdemeanor for transporting and harboring illegal aliens rather than a felony. HB 339 (2008) raises the penalty in SB81 for transporting an illegal alien to a third degree felony while leaving harboring in SB81 as a Class A misdemeanor. However, Under HB339, “A person who benefits financially or materially by receiving anything of value from knowing participation in: a. human trafficking is guilty of a second degree felony. b. human smuggling is guilty of a third degree felony. SB81 Allows religious organizations to call and encourage, invite, call, allow or enable an illegal alien who has been a member of the religious denomination for at least one year to perform the vocation of a minister or missionary for the denomination or organization in the United States. Thus, individuals who have violated U.S. law and who have likely committed felonies of document fraud, perjury and identity theft if they have held a job with reputable employers are allowed to hold religious offices with the blessing of the state of Utah. HB339 Herrod H.B. 339 Enrolled 1 HUMAN TRAFFICKING AMENDMENTS 2 2008 GENERAL SESSION (last year) 3 STATE OF UTAH 4 Chief Sponsor: Christopher N. Herrod 5 Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble 6 Cosponsors: 7 Sylvia S. Andersen 8 Jackie Biskupski 9 Bradley M. Daw 10 Jack R. Draxler 11 Lorie D. Fowlke 12 Gage FroererKevin S. Garn Keith Grover Neil A. Hansen Christine A. Johnson David Litvack Rebecca D. Lockhart Rosalind J. McGeeKaren W. Morgan Paul A. Neuenschwander Phil Riesen Stephen E. Sandstrom Kenneth W. Sumsion Carl Wimmer 13 14 LONG TITLE 15 General Description: 16 This bill criminalizes human trafficking and human smuggling. 17 Highlighted Provisions: 18 This bill: 19 . criminalizes human smuggling for profit or commercial purposes; 20 . criminalizes human trafficking for forced labor and for sexual exploitation; 21 . distinguishes between human trafficking and aggravated human trafficking; and 22 . distinguishes between human smuggling and aggravated human smuggling. 23 Monies Appropriated in this Bill: 24 None 25 Other Special Clauses: 26 This bill coordinates with S.B. 81, Illegal Immigration, by providing a substantive 27 amendment. 28 Utah Code Sections Affected: 29 ENACTS: 30 76-5-307, Utah Code Annotated 1953 31 76-5-308, Utah Code Annotated 1953 32 76-5-309, Utah Code Annotated 1953 33 76-5-310, Utah Code Annotated 1953 34 35 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah: 36 Section 1. Section 76-5-307 is enacted to read: 37 Part 3. Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Smuggling 38 76-5-307. Definitions. 39 As used in Sections 76-5-308 through 76-5-312 of this part: 40 (1) "Family member" means a person's parent, grandparent, sibling, or any other person 41 related to the person by consanguinity or affinity to the second degree. 42 (2) "Smuggling of human beings" means the transportation or procurement of 43 transportation for one or more persons by an actor who knows or has reason to know that the 44 person or persons transported or to be transported are not: 45 (a) citizens of the United States; 46 (b) permanent resident aliens; or 47 (c) otherwise lawfully in this state or entitled to be in this state. 48 Section 2. Section 76-5-308 is enacted to read: 49 76-5-308. Human trafficking. 50 (1) An actor commits human trafficking for forced labor or forced sexual exploitation if 51 the actor recruits, harbors, transports, or obtains a person through the use of force, fraud, or 52 coercion by means of: 53 (a) threatening serious harm to, or physical restraint against, that person or a third 54 person; 55 (b) destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any passport, 56 immigration document, or other government identification document; 57 (c) abusing or threatening abuse of the law or legal process against the person or a third 58 person; 59 (d) using a condition of a person being a debtor due to a pledge of the debtor's personal 60 services or the personal services of a person under the control of the debtor as a security for 61 debt where the reasonable value of the services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt 62 or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined; or 63 (e) using a condition of servitude by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to 64 cause a person to believe that if the person did not enter into or continue in a condition of 65 servitude, that person or a third person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint, or would 66 be threatened with abuse of legal process. 67 (2) (a) Human trafficking for forced labor includes forced labor in industrial facilities, 68 sweatshops, households, agricultural enterprises, and any other workplace. 69 (b) Human trafficking for forced sexual exploitation includes all forms of forced 70 commercial sexual activity, including forced sexually explicit performance, forced prostitution, 71 forced participation in the production of pornography, forced performance in strip clubs, and 72 forced exotic dancing or display. 73 Section 3. Section 76-5-309 is enacted to read: 74 76-5-309. Human trafficking and human smuggling -- Penalties. 75 (1) Human trafficking for forced labor and human trafficking for forced sexual 76 exploitation are each a second degree felony, except under Section 76-5-310 . 77 (2) Human smuggling of one or more human beings for profit or for a commercial 78 purpose is a third degree felony, except under Section 76-5-310 . 79 (3) Human trafficking and human smuggling are each a separate offense from any other 80 crime committed in relationship to the commission of either of these offenses. 81 (4) A person who benefits financially or materially by receiving anything of value from 82 knowing participation in: 83 (a) human trafficking is guilty of a second degree felony; and 84 (b) human smuggling is guilty of a third degree felony. 85 Section 4. Section 76-5-310 is enacted to read: 86 76-5-310. Aggravated human trafficking and aggravated human smuggling -- 87 Penalties. 88 (1) An actor commits aggravated human trafficking for forced labor or forced sexual 89 exploitation or aggravated human smuggling if, in the course of committing a human trafficking 90 or human smuggling offense under Section 76-5-309 , the offense: 91 (a) results in the death of the trafficked or smuggled person; 92 (b) results in serious bodily injury of the trafficked or smuggled person; 93 (c) involves: 94 (i) rape under Section 76-5-402 ; 95 (ii) rape of a child under Section 76-5-402.1 ; 96 (iii) object rape under Section 76-5-402.2 ; 97 (iv) object rape of a child under Section 76-5-402.3 ; 98 (v) forcible sodomy under Section 76-5-403 ; 99 (vi) sodomy on a child under Section 76-5-403.1 ; 100 (vii) aggravated sexual abuse of a child under Section 76-5-404.1 ; or 101 (viii) aggravated sexual assault under 76-5-405 ; 102 (d) involves more than ten victims in a single episode of human trafficking or human 103 smuggling; or 104 (e) involves a victim who is held against the victim's will for longer than 180 105 consecutive days. 106 (2) An actor commits aggravated human trafficking for forced labor or forced sexual 107 exploitation if the offense involves a victim who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of 108 the commission of the offense of trafficking. 109 (3) An actor commits aggravated human smuggling if the actor commits human 110 smuggling under Subsection 76-5-309 (2) and any human being whom the person engages in 111 smuggling is: 112 (a) younger than 18 years of age; and 113 (b) not accompanied by a family member who is 18 years of age or older. 114 (4) (a) Aggravated human trafficking for forced labor or forced sexual exploitation and 115 aggravated human smuggling for profit or commercial purposes are each a first degree felony. 116 (b) Aggravated human trafficking and aggravated human smuggling are each a separate 117 offense from any other crime committed in relationship to the commission of either of these 118 offenses. 119 Section 5. Coordinating H.B. 339 with S.B. 81 -- Modifying substantive language. 120 If this H.B. 339 and S.B. 81, Illegal Immigration, both pass, it is the intent of the 121 Legislature that the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, in preparing the Utah 122 Code database for publication, modify Subsection 76-10-2701 (3), as enacted by S.B. 81 to read 123 as follows: 124 (3) (a) A person who violates Subsection (2)(a) is guilty of a third degree felony. 125 (b) A person who violates Subsection (2)(b) is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 36-42 Prevents any agency from giving public benefits to illegal aliens 43-51 We can expect the Attorney General to ignore these provisions 52-55 Requires that communities not make policies that limit or prohibits a law enforcement officer or government employee from communicating or cooperating with federal officials regarding the immigration status of a person within the state. It appears SLC and Chief Burbank are in total violation of this section. This is where the law needs to be enforced. SLC is now the flagship sanctuary city of Utah. 2008 GENERAL SESSION STATE OF UTAH Chief Sponsor: John W. Hickman House Sponsor: Michael E. Noel LONG TITLE General Description: 9 This bill deals with provisions related to the immigration status of individuals within the 10 state. 11 Highlighted Provisions: 12 This bill: 13 requires a county sheriff to make a reasonable effort to determine the citizenship 14 status of a person confined to a county jail for a period of time and to verify the 15 immigration status of a confined foreign national, and makes it a rebuttable 16 presumption, for the purpose of determining the grant or issuance of a bond, that a 17 person verified by the sheriff's efforts as a foreign national not lawfully admitted into 18 the United States is at risk of flight; 19 provides that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission may not grant a 20 restaurant liquor license or private club license to a person who is not lawfully 21 present in the United States; 22 provides for the creation and issuance of identification documents and requires that 23 those identification documents issued by public entities go only to United States 24 citizens, nationals, or legal permanent resident aliens with certain exceptions; 25 provides for exceptions to the issuance of identification documents by public entities 26 based on valid documentation of certain approved or pending immigration status and 27 places time period restrictions on the length of validity of the documents; 28 requires public employers to register with and use a Status Verification System to 29 verify the federal authorization status of a new employee; 30 beginning July 1, 2009, provides that a public employer may not enter into a contract 31 for the physical performance of services within the state with a contractor unless the 32 contractor registers and participates in the Status Verification System to verify the 33 work eligibility status of the contractor's new employees; 34 provides that it is unlawful to discharge a lawful employee while retaining an 35 unauthorized alien in the same job category; 36 requires an agency or political subdivision of the state to verify the lawful presence 37 in the United States of an individual who has applied for a state or local public 38 benefit, as defined by federal law, or a federal public benefit that is administered by 39 the agency or the political subdivision and provides for exceptions; 40 requires an applicant for a state or local public benefit to certify the applicant's lawful 41 presence in the United States, and provides penalties for making a false, fictitious, or 42 fraudulent statement or representation in the certification; 43 provides, subject to the availability of funding, for the establishment of a Fraudulent 44 Documents Identification Unit by the attorney general for the primary purpose of 45 investigating, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals who participate in the sale 46 or distribution of fraudulent identification documents created and prepared for 47 individuals who are unlawfully residing within the state; 48 requires the attorney general to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with the 49 United States Department of Justice or the United States Department of Homeland 50 Security for the enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws within the 51 state by state and local law enforcement personnel; 52 prohibits a unit of local government from enacting an ordinance or policy that limits 53 or prohibits a law enforcement officer or government employee from communicating 54 or cooperating with federal officials regarding the immigration status of a person 55 within the state; and 56 makes it a class A misdemeanor for a person to: 57 transport into this state or for a distance of 100 miles within the state an alien for 58 commercial advantage or private financial gain, knowing that the alien is in the United States in 59 violation of federal law, in furtherance of the illegal presence in the United States; or 60 conceal, harbor, or shelter from detection an alien, in a place within this state for 61 commercial advantage or private financial gain, knowing or in reckless disregard 62 of the fact that the alien is in the United States in violation of federal law. |