Utah lawmakers look to reverse 2019 law to make it easier to deport people for misdemeanors
Utah lawmakers are eying a change to the state's criminal code that would make it easier to deport undocumented people who commit low-level offenses, undoing a 2019 law that passed unanimously.
Per federal law, if an undocumented immigrant is sentenced to at least one year of incarceration for a crime, it would initiate their deportation proceedings. So to prevent noncitizens from being deported for a misdemeanor offense, the Utah legislature in 2019 decided to lower the maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor from 365 days to 364 days.
The law, HB244, passed the Utah House and Senate without receiving a single 'no' vote.
'People with misdemeanors are getting caught up in that net, and there are automatic deportation proceedings as a result,' said former Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, in 2019.
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Now, lawmakers are reversing course. On Monday, a bill undoing that 2019 law got initial approval from the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee after a 9-1 vote.
Sponsored by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, HB226 tackles a number of immigration-related policies in an attempt to facilitate cooperation between Utah law enforcement and federal immigration policies pushed by President Donald Trump, who promised to ramp up deportations.
The bill increases the possible jail sentence for a class A misdemeanor to 365 days, while directing state law enforcement to hand over an undocumented person once they have served their sentence to federal immigration officials, where the deportation process will begin.
'After serving your full 365 days, then you would be released to ICE,' said Pierucci on Monday, referring to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. 'There is nothing humane about having people in our country without having a legal way to work. And the way that the system is set up right now, or has been for the past four years, has not set our country up for success.'
The bill would also prohibit nonprofits from paying to have undocumented people resettled in Utah, allowing the Utah Attorney General's Office to dissolve organizations that 'knowingly' transport undocumented people into the state.
Pierucci said that applies to nonprofits that 'verified that someone doesn't have a legal status and they still paid to transport them into Utah. Nonprofits that are set up here that are providing services, this wouldn't impact.'
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The committee's lone Democrat, Millcreek Rep. Andrew Stoddard, was the only 'no' vote on Tuesday. His opposition stems from the blanket approach to increasing the penalty for class A misdemeanors — some crimes are worthy of deportation, like assault or other violent offenses, but not all, he said.
By allowing a one-year sentence for all class A misdemeanors, Stoddard said the bill 'creates a whole wave of collateral consequences that, regardless of your belief of immigration and being here illegally, really can cause a lot of problems.'
'Not all class A misdemeanors are the same,' he said.
That was the sentiment shared by the 10 people who spoke against the bill on Tuesday during the meeting's public comment period. Mark Moffat with the Utah Defense Attorney Association said if the law passed, low-level offenses now could break up families.
'Some of these crimes are crimes that may be driven by necessity. Maybe they're stealing food because they don't have any, and they commit a class A misdemeanor level offense,' Moffat said. 'A class A misdemeanor level offense, at a 365-day sentence, will result in them being deported from the United States. These may be people who have been in our community for a very, very long time, who have children who have been born here in the United States. This move has the potential to disrupt families.'
Other activists speaking against the bill worried it could have a dangerous impact on some of Utah's hispanic communities. Utah leaders, including the governor and Senate and House leadership, have repeatedly said the state will focus its efforts on deporting people who have broken the law.
But on Monday, a number of advocates and immigration experts say the ripple effect could go beyond criminals.
If their friends or family could now face permanent consequences for a minor offense, people might be hesitant to interact with law enforcement at all, regardless of their immigration status. It could result in witnesses not cooperating, or victims of domestic violence or other unsafe situations not seeking help, advocates argued.
'HB226 doesn't make our communities safer,' said Linda Stone, a Herriman resident who works with the group MomsRising. 'It just adds permanent consequences to a system that already punishes people harshly.'
The bill, having passed the committee with a 9-1 vote, will now be considered by the entire Utah House. It would then be required to go before a Senate committee, then the full Senate, before before it could be sent to the governor's desk.
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