IMMIGRATION UPDATES & NEWS
Utah Orders Probe after Alleged Illegal Immigrant List Passed to State and Federal Agencies
Jul 14, 03:47 PM
In the New York Times Today, this story out of Utah:
Utah didn’t enact a strict, new anti-illegal immigration law like its neighbor Arizona, but some citizens are sending the message that they’d like their state to follow the example.
A list of more than 1,300 people alleged to be illegal immigrants was circulated to various state and federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, by an anonymous group this week.
The names on the list are mostly of Hispanic origin and include peoples’ addresses, birth dates, phone numbers.
Social Security numbers for 31 people are on the list, as well as the names and dates of more than 200 children and the due dates of six pregnant women, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
The list has Utah’s Hispanic community filled with fear.
“My phone has been ringing nonstop,” Tony Yapias, the former director of the Utah Office of Hispanic Affairs, said of people frantically calling to find out if they are on the list.
“They’re feeling terrorized. They’re very scared.”
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, using his Twitter account, urged agencies to find out whether their workers were involved in compiling the list.
“Have asked state agencies to conduct a review,” Herbert tweeted, writing that if private information was released “we’ll turn it over to the authorities.”
A previous version of the list was sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April, signed by “Concerned Citizens of the United States.”
The April letter notes that the group “observes these individuals in our neighborhoods, driving on our streets, working in our stores, attending our schools and entering our public welfare buildings.”
The group claims it has “legal Mexican nationals” infiltrating alleged illegal immigrant social networks to “help us obtain the necessary information we need to add them to our list.”
A spokeswoman for ICE said the agency focuses its attention toward illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a serious crime, “not sweeps or raids to target undocumented immigrants indiscriminately.”
The list’s accuracy is unknown, however, the Salt Lake Tribune contacted two women whose names are listed. Both said they are in the U.S. legally, with one adding she is now a permanent legal resident.
Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law, which gives the police the right to question a person’s immigration status if there is “reasonable suspicion” to do so, goes into effect July 29.