The Utah Senate shut down this House immigration bill. Why?
House Republicans launched the 2025 legislative session with a package of bills that would increase the consequences for immigration-related crimes.
After six weeks of work, the Senate is slamming the door on some of them in a stated effort to limit the number of new criminal enhancements, while letting some pass through if they slim up.
Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, told the Deseret News on Friday that the Senate is applying strict scrutiny because the House filed around 80 bills this session that would toughen up law enforcement responses.
Senate Judiciary Chair Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, on Friday that he needed to be convinced
Wilcox's bill, which enhanced penalties for street gang recruitment and theft, was necessary.
'We can't continue to enhance everything every year,' Weiler said. 'It's an unsustainable course.'
On Friday, the Senate Transportation Committee signaled the end of the road for Rep. Matt MacPherson's proposal that would have discouraged unlicensed driving, with little discussion even after the bill passed with large margins in the House.
The bill, HB392, was brought forward at the request of law enforcement across the state who reported a surge in interactions with drivers without a license.
In 2023, unlicensed drivers made up nearly 50% of the 2,000 serious car crashes in West Valley City, according to data published by the city police department. Nearly 50% of individuals identified in hit-and-runs were also unlicensed.
The bill would have allowed law enforcement to seize a vehicle without a warrant if the driver did not possess a driver's license, permit or privilege card.
In addition to increasing the penalty for driving without a license from an infraction to a misdemeanor, the bill would have implemented towing and identification requirements similar to those followed by police officers in cases of reckless driving or driving under the influence.
One of the biggest problems highlighted by law enforcement that the bill would have addressed was the inability for police to ticket these drivers because many of them do not have identification. The bill would have required police to take a quick fingerprint of an unlicensed driver.
Following the hearing, MacPherson, R-West Valley, said the Senate's goal of filtering out criminal enhancements should not be applied indiscriminately based solely on factors like jail capacity or funding.
'I think that unless it is done with careful thought, you risk ignoring real problems in our communities that still rely on the rule of law,' MacPherson said.
The Senate has shown a desire to address an increase in immigrant crime after four years of historic immigration as long as it pertains to repeat offenders or is very narrowly tailored to violent crimes.
On Thursday, the Senate presented its consensus immigration law enforcement bill to the House where it received a unanimous recommendation for a floor vote with just one week left in the 2025 legislative session.
SB90, Mandatory Jail Sentence Amendments, would require mandatory jail sentences for drug and theft crimes committed by individuals who were previously convicted of one of these crimes, deported and then found to have reentered the country illegally.
Bill sponsor Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, referred to one instance of an unauthorized immigrant apprehended by local law enforcement who had previously been deported 11 times.
'They were clearly tied to organized crime,' Musselman said. 'There's almost a revolving door there. ... That's what this is trying to stop.'
Musselman's bill would require someone who is convicted of a crime in Utah following criminal reentry into the United States to be sentenced with at least 90 days in jail for a class C misdemeanor, 180 days for a class B misdemeanor and 360 days for a class A misdemeanor or felony.
The bill would prohibit an individual who receives one of these mandatory jail sentences from being turned over to the federal government for deportation until the person has served the entire mandatory jail sentence.
It would allow local law enforcement to coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on deportation proceedings during the 14-day period before the final day of the individual's jail sentence.
One of the central House bills related to state and national efforts to address crimes committed by immigrants underwent significant changes before the Senate said it could advance for a floor vote.
Rep. Candice Pierucci's HB226 would partially reverse a 2019 law, passed unanimously, that decreased the maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor by one day, to 364 days, in an attempt to skirt federal immigration policy that allows the immediate deportation of legal or illegal immigrants who are sentenced to 365 days or more.
After her bill failed in committee earlier this week, Pierucci, R-Riverton, was able to bring it back on Friday on the condition that she removed certain provisions.
The bill originally increased penalties for nonprofit groups that knowingly transported unauthorized immigrants into the state. This portion was removed, as was language allowing DUI's to trigger automatic deportation.
The current version of the bill would increase the minimum sentence by one day only for violent class A misdemeanors like sexual abuse and assault.
During meetings with ICE officials over the last year, the state's one-day sentencing reduction was repeatedly identified as an obstacle for federal authorities seeking to work with Utah law enforcement to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally, Pierucci said.
'Our 364 to 365 did make Utah somewhat of a target and somewhat of a magnet and made it difficult for us to work with ICE as they worked on deportation,' Pierucci told committee members.
Pierucci's bill would codify law enforcement best practices of coordinating with federal immigration authorities before releasing an immigrant charged with a class A misdemeanor or a felony.
It would also require the immigration status of arrested individuals to be submitted to a court as part of the probable cause statement and would give judges the presumption that individuals are considered a flight risk for bail if they are not lawfully present in the country.
Escamilla voted against the bill, along with Weiler, arguing the bill would have a disproportionate affect on immigrants lawfully in the country, like green card holders, refugees and temporary visa recipients.
'These are misdemeanors and they are misdemeanors for a reason. And the moment we trigger that piece it's a completely different impact for lawfully present individuals,' Escamilla said.
But this kind of disagreement is what makes the the bicameral system best for making good policy, according to Pierucci.
On Wednesday, Musselman and Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, voted against Pierucci's bill. Three days later, after Pierucci narrowed the size and scope of her bill, they jumped on board.
'The House and Senate are very different,' Pierucci said. 'This is the way the process works.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
Senate GOP unveil long-awaited SNAP proposals for Trump bill
Senate Republicans on Wednesday rolled out a suite of proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a key component of President Trump's 'big beautiful bill' – but it dials back some of the proposals sought by the House that drew intraparty concerns. The new legislative text from the Senate would require states to cover some of the cost of SNAP benefits, which are currently completely funded by the federal government, if they have a payment error rate above 6 percent beginning in fiscal 2028, while allowing states with rates below that level to continue paying zero percent. It also proposes states with higher payment error rates cover a greater share of benefit costs. If the error rate is 6 percent or higher, states would be subject to a sliding scale that could see its share of allotments rise to a range of between 5 percent to 15 percent. The House, by contrast, called for all states to cover 5 percent of the cost of allotments in its agricultural proposal passed as part of a broader plan to advance Trump's tax agenda last month, with states that had higher payment error rates having to pay anywhere between 15 to 25 percent. The softened proposal comes as Senate Republicans expressed concerns about how the House pitch would have impacted states. 'This bill takes a commonsense approach to reforming SNAP-cutting waste, increasing state accountability, and helping recipients transition to self-sufficiency through work and training,' Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman (R-Ariz.) said in a statement on Wednesday. 'It's about being good stewards of taxpayer dollars while giving folks the tools to succeed.' 'At the same time, our farmers and ranchers are facing real challenges,' he said. 'This legislation delivers the risk management tools and updated farm bill safety net they need to keep producing the safest, most abundant and affordable food, fuel, and fiber in the world. It's an investment in rural America and the future of agriculture.' Like the House bill, the Senate bill would also decrease the administrative cost the federal government is required to pay to help cover program operations in the states by 25 percent, but beginning in fiscal year 2027. The proposals in both chambers also seek to limit the federal government's ability to increase monthly benefits in the future and beef up work requirements, as well as farm provisions that GOP leaders have argued will make it easier to craft a bipartisan farm bill in the months ahead – although Democrats have said otherwise. Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee estimated the recent legislation would generate $144 billion in net savings in the years ahead as the party looks to ramp up cost-cutting measures in Trump's plan amid concerns about the overall deficit impact of his tax priorities.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Incredibly petty': Sen. Rand Paul says he was 'uninvited' to White House picnic over breaks with Trump
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he was "uninvited" to an annual White House picnic typically attended by members of Congress and their families, framing the move to reporters Wednesday as retribution for his opposition to key components of President Donald Trump's agenda. 'They're afraid of what I'm saying, so they think they're going to punish me, I can't go to the picnic, as if somehow that's going to make me more conciliatory,' Paul said. 'So it's silly, in a way, but it's also just really sad that this is what it's come to. But petty vindictiveness like this, it makes you — it makes you wonder about the quality of people you're dealing with.' Paul, who said he attended picnics hosted by Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, told reporters he called the White House on Wednesday to secure tickets to the annual picnic but was told he was not invited. He said he had family members flying to Washington to attend the event, including his son, daughter-in-law and 6-month-old grandson, who he noted owns a "Make America Great Again" hat. 'I just find this incredibly petty,' Paul told reporters. "I have been, I think, nothing but polite to the president. I have been an intellectual opponent, a public policy opponent, and he's chosen now to uninvite me from the picnic and to say my grandson can't come to the picnic." The White House did not immediately respond to a series of questions, including whether Paul was ever invited to the event and whether Trump was directly involved in the decision to "uninvite" him. As Trump pushes Republicans to pass a package of measures to fund much of his domestic agenda by Independence Day, Paul is among the Senate Republicans poised to make that milestone unreachable, joining fiscal hawks in the party to balk at legislation the Congressional Budget Office estimates said would add $2.4 trillion to the national deficit. In addition to his belief that the funding package would "explode the debt," Paul has criticized spending cuts in the bill as "wimpy and anemic," called planned Medicaid changes in the legislation "bad strategy" and proposed cutting billions of dollars for Trump's border wall from the bill. 'In private, there's quite a few people in there who actually do think we could save some money and are open-minded to it and believe the administration should justify the numbers,' Paul told reporters after a two-hour meeting on the bill Wednesday. 'Even if you're supportive, and I am supportive of border security, but I'm just not supportive of a blank check.' Paul said this week he plans to vote no on the legislation and speculated Wednesday that that might be among the reasons the invitation was rescinded. 'I'm arguing from a true belief and worry that our country is mired in debt and getting worse, and they choose to react by uninviting my grandson to the picnic,' Paul said. 'I don't know, I just think it really makes me lose a lot of respect I once had for Donald Trump.' Trump has frequently lashed out at Paul in response to the sustained opposition, deriding him on Truth Social for his criticisms. "Rand Paul has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting 'NO' on everything, he thinks it's good politics, but it's not," Trump wrote last week. Paul has emerged as a chief critic of Trump's fiscal policy, and he has intensely criticized his decision to impose tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, arguing they will push the country into a recession. Paul, a libertarian conservative, was one of four Republican senators to back a Democratic resolution to block the implementation of Trump's Canadian tariffs, predicting at the time that the import penalties would "threaten us with a recession" and calling Trump's decision to impose tariffs on major U.S. trading partners "a terrible, terrible idea." The effort has so far stalled in the House. Paul also joined Democrats in introducing a bipartisan resolution to undo the 'reciprocal' tariffs Trump imposed on dozens of countries, this time by terminating the national emergency he declared to implement the global penalties, arguing that Trump had exceeded his presidential authority. 'Tariffs are taxes, and the power to tax belongs to Congress—not the president. Our Founders were clear: tax policy should never rest in the hands of one person,' Paul said in a statement about the bipartisan effort. 'Abusing emergency powers to impose blanket tariffs not only drives up costs for American families but also tramples on the Constitution. It's time Congress reasserts its authority and restores the balance of power.' That effort failed to pass the Senate. Paul's differences with Trump even extend to the military parade taking place Saturday, which he likened to parades in countries led by dictators. "I wouldn't have done it," Paul said Tuesday. "The images you saw in the Soviet Union and North Korea, we were proud not to be that." But still, in the face of his criticisms of Trump, Paul appeared to view the rescinded invitation as a shock, noting that even Democratic lawmakers remain invited to the White House picnic. "I think I'm the first senator in the history of United States to be uninvited to the White House picnic,' Rand told reporters. "Literally, every Democrat is invited, every Republican is invited, and to say that my family is no longer welcome, kind of sad, actually.' This article was originally published on
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Legislative recap for Wednesday, June 11
A sign above the main entrance to the Maine State House in Augusta. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) The future of a controversial bill that extends a loophole for out-of-state waste to be brought to Juniper Ridge Landfill is uncertain. After both chambers passed the bill (LD 297), with the Senate voting 22-10 on Wednesday, less than two-thirds of the House voted to enact the bill, which is required for an emergency measure. During the Senate debate, Sen. Rick Benett (R-Oxford), who opposed the legislation, read a letter from Wabanaki Alliance executive director Maulian Bryant, who said the proposal would extend an unjust loophole that is poisoning the Penobscot River. Others who spoke criticized Casella Waste Management, which runs the landfill, for not doing more to change its practices to meet the requirements of a 2022 law banning out-of-state waste. The imported bulky waste — such as construction materials — helps the landfill manage the excess of sludge. Sen. Denise Tepler (D-Sagadahoc) said she's 'not convinced the operator of the landfill is an honest broker.' Tepler and others acknowledged that the bill was not an adequate solution, but she argued that under the current system, it's difficult to separate the in- and out-of-state waste and said the state is up against several contractual obligations so, if no action is taken, it would mean 'serious problems at the landfill.' More bulky waste battles to come. (Read more about this issue here). With papers frantically shuffling between chambers this week ahead of the planned June 18 adjournment, Maine Morning Star will highlight the biggest items of debate as well as legislation and issues that we've followed all session. Here's an overview of what happened Monday. After extensive back and forth, both chambers threw their support behind a proposal to protect Maine's night sky from light pollution. House lawmakers voted late Wednesday to align with the Senate in favor of LD 1934, which would require that exterior lighting on public buildings and projects comply with certain standards intended to reduce the amount of unnecessary light emitted, with exemptions for airports, highways, ski areas, emergency management, and — after the passage of a floor amendment — the Maine Turnpike. Sen. Stacey Guerin (R-Penobscot) pointed out that New Hampshire passed a similar measure and 'the sky did not fall, but the night sky is shining brightly.' Legislation to increase the transparency and accountability of the Maine Information and Analysis Center, a controversial fusion center that was accused by a whistleblower of illegally monitoring and tracking civilians, passed both chambers. LD 419 creates an auditor position within the Attorney General's Office to produce publicly available reports on its actions and ensures the center operates within the law and in a manner that preserves the privacy, civil liberties and civil rights of all people in the state. Following the Senate vote one day before, the House on Wednesday passed legislation (LD 1666) to expand ranked-choice voting to races for general and special elections for governor, state senator and state representative. Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn) said the bill does more than enact 'the people's will. It restores coherence to our electoral system.' However, critics argued that because that state constitution says those races should be decided by a 'plurality' of voters, that the bill is unconstitutional. Both chambers have rejected a constitutional amendment (LD 150) that would allow voters to choose the state treasurer. The Senate on Wednesday voted 16-17 against passage of the bill, following the House vote earlier this week. The chambers both voted without a roll call to pass LD 1702, which adds restrictions to what candidates or their representatives can do at polling places on Election Day, including collecting petition signatures or contributions for their candidacy within 250 feet of the entrance to a polling place. Both chambers backed legislation (LD 1731) that would give greater oversight to the Maine State Ferry Advisory Board, requiring the Maine State Ferry Service to consult the board on matters regarding budgets, planning and major operational decisions while the board will conduct annual reviews of the ferry service. This action comes after the ferry service experienced serious disruptions last summer and has struggled to hire and retain staff. (Read more about the issue here.) LD 1099, which would exempt diapers from sales tax, passed both chambers without a roll call. With the House voting 75-65 and the Senate 19-14, both chambers are supporting a proposal (LD 1328) to create culturally appropriate and trauma-informed housing recovery residences to provide services to underserved, underrepresented or disparately impacted individuals in recovery from substance use disorder. The majority of the House and Senate have voted against a proposal (LD 856) to phase out the income tax. An emergency bill (LD 1920) to prohibit the sale to a person under 21 years old of potentially intoxicating hemp products passed both chambers without a roll call, and was unanimously enacted by both chambers, meaning it will take effect immediately after signing. Both the House and Senate passed legislation (LD 1326) that would establish maximum PFAS levels in the drinking water of certain public water systems that serve settings such as schools, factories, industrial parks or office buildings. (Read more about the issue here.) The chambers also unanimously approved a resolve (LD 1888) directing the Office of the Attorney General to convene a working group to study the feasibility of establishing the crime of racketeering for drug offenses and sex trafficking. One of several proposals to amend the constitution to require the popular election of the secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer (LD 508) ultimately failed after a series of back and forth votes. Though it initially passed the House, which also added a floor amendment that would have ensured those races used ranked-choice voting, it was rejected by the Senate and then indefinitely postponed, which the House later agreed to. The House on Wednesday insisted on passage of a tax proposal rejected by the Senate (LD 1879) that would increase corporate tax rates and use that revenue to support the state's agricultural industries. (Read more about the bill here.) The House on Wednesday insisted on its position in support of a resolve (LD 1364) directing the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to evaluate efforts to promote the use of non-lead ammunition. Following that, the Senate also insisted on its position against the bill, likely dooming the legislation. Despite significant debate and fatigue over a bill (LD 1754) that would provide for the direct shipment of spirits to consumers, the House voted to insist on its position against the measure that the Senate has backed (a position the upper chamber later doubled down on). Critics argued the legislation would take money from mom and pop retailers that have paid significant money for liquor licenses. The chambers are also at odds over legislation (LD 1657) that would expand the use of tax increment revenue for affordable housing by adding authorized project costs, such as costs for the development, sale, and operation. The House late Wednesday insisted on its position against the measure that is backed by the Senate. The chambers are also split over a proposal (LD 1200) to prohibit the sale of items intended to be used to inhale nitrous oxide for recreational use. The Senate first passed the bill without a roll call but the House voted 50-93 against the measure. Arguing against, Rep. Nina Milliken (D-Blue Hill) told her colleagues the bill would create a new civil offense, such as that if she went to the grocery store and purchased whipped cream with the intention of huffing the gas, and the clerk who sold it to her knew she would do that, they could get a civil penalty. She argued, 'when a bad bill comes around, you must whip it.' Senators voted 21-10 to pass a measure (LD 913) that would prohibit ticket sellers from banning the transfer of tickets to third parties. An amendment introduced on the floor that would have capped the price of resale tickets failed 11-20. House members voted 75-67 to back a provision (LD 229) that would add new tax brackets to increase taxes on the state's highest earners and increase the threshold for the state's lower tax brackets, which sponsor Rep. Ann Matlack (D-Spruce Head) explained was crafted to provide income tax relief to those in the middle. However, a measure (LD 1089) that would establish a tax on incomes over $1,000,000 to permanently fund the state's share of education failed 70-72. The House on Wednesday voted without a roll call to reject a proposed constitutional amendment (LD 1112) that would require the state to reimburse municipalities for at least 90% of lost revenue due to property tax exemptions, and also establish a minimum homestead tax exemption. The House initially voted under the hammer to pass LD 172, which would require the Maine State Police to create a statewide list of missing persons and study improvements for investigating those cases, but then moved to table the measure. (Read more about this issue here). Members of the House voted 73-69 in favor of (LD 648) to expand the state's supervised community confinement program for incarcerated people who committed offenses before they were 26 years old. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
