PDF: Read the letter that was sent with the list of illegal immigrants
As Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff waits for the results of an investigation into who sent out the private records of 1,300 people described as illegal immigrants, he's made it clear: Shurtleff will target the senders.
"We are not investigating the people on the list. We are concerned about the abuse of privacy laws," said Shurtleff.
Gov. Gary Herbert ordered the Utah Department of Workforce Services to hand over to Shurtleff all of the information it can about who helped release the list, which was anonymously sent via postal mail to public officials and news outlets earlier this month and may contain restricted state records.
But Riverdale resident Ken Allred and others have asked, "What about the illegal aliens?"
"Why aren't they being arrested?" said Allred, in a call to the Standard- Examiner.
The 1,300 names, by many accounts, list some people who are not illegal immigrants. Yet, the 29-page document also contained businesses that may have knowingly hired illegal immigrants, and people who may have used someone else's Social Security numbers.
"Why don't Utah law enforcement officials go after illegal aliens buying and using phony documents and stolen identities rather than just focusing on those manufacturing them?" asked Ron Mortensen, a member of the conservative Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration.
Mortensen and Allred ask questions some argue have no easy answers.
Shurtleff, along with several Top of Utah law enforcement officials, believe the jurisdiction of investigating those crimes generally belongs to the federal government, and that state law doesn't cover enough circumstances to allow them to act.
"Clearly, there needs to be corporate and industry responsibility when it comes to hiring undocumented workers," said the attorney general, who supports some types of changes to Utah law in this area.
But others say the jurisdictional question involves conflicting court decisions on the topic.
"That is part of the issue that needs to be resolved," said Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner on Monday. "We need to figure out what local law enforcement's part on this is."
Greiner said when he received the statewide list, he ordered a review of the 94 Ogden names listed.
"None of them had outstanding warrants," he said, so Greiner took no other action on the list.
Greiner, who also is a state senator, is one of 30 people invited to today's immigration reform roundtable in Salt Lake City, a public event sponsored by Gov. Herbert.
The governor called for the immigration forum as Utah lawmakers consider legislation that might mirror controversial Arizona laws that enhance the prosecutorial or investigatory powers of state-level officials.
Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, an Orem Republican, said he will address some of these jurisdictional issues as he crafts an immigration bill.
But as roundtable participants meet, the investigation will roll forward in the background, and if state workers compiled and released the list, they may face prosecution for violations of state laws.
Shurtleff said once he receives a report from Herbert, he will talk with federal officials about how to proceed with perhaps a joint investigation if federal laws have been broken, as well.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed receiving the list but declined to say whether anyone on it is being investigated.
ICE officials said their agency concentrates on immigration enforcement that prioritizes efforts first on those dangerous convicted criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, not sweeps or raids to target undocumented immigrants indiscriminately.
LINK: You can watch the live summit stream online at www.utah.gov
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