Mexico and thirteen Latin American countries signed onto an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief filed June 2, 2011, asking a federal judge to strike down Utah’s new immigration enforcement law, HB 497.
WE ARE MEXICO’S JOBS, WELFARE, “FREE BIRTHING”, AND JAILS PROGRAM.
OUR BORDERS, LAWS, LANGUAGE OR CULTURE DO NOT EXIST TO MEXICO!
Mexico and thirteen Latin American countries signed onto an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief filed June 2, 2011, asking a federal judge to strike down Utah’s new immigration enforcement law, HB 497. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 7, 2011) The original plaintiffs, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Immigration Law Center (NILC), sued the State in May, claiming HB 497 is “preempted” by federal law. They argue: (1) HB 497 impermissibly regulates immigration, (2) parts of HB 497 are inconsistent with federal law, and (3) Mexico has made a “formal complaint” about HB 497. (Plaintiff’s Complaint, filed May 3, 2011; See FAIR Legislative Update, May 16, 2011) The plaintiffs also claim that HB 497 will lead to unlawful detentions and racial profiling by Utah officers, as well as violates the federally guaranteed “right to travel.” (Id.)
HB 497 contains enforcement provisions similar to Arizona’s SB 1070, which requires law enforcement officers to verify a person’s immigration status if that person has been lawfully stopped and that person is not carrying one of a handful of documents, including a valid state driver’s license from a state that does not give licenses to illegal aliens. (See FAIR Legislative Update, May 16, 2011)
In the 21-page brief, the foreign governments—which include Argentina, Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Brazil—argue HB 497 harms international relations with the United States and should be ruled unconstitutional. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 7, 2011) The brief argues that the law “substantially and inappropriately burdens the consistent sovereign-to-sovereign relations between Mexico and the United States of America, interfering with the strategic diplomatic interests of the two countries and encouraging an imminent threat of state-sanctioned bias or discrimination.” (Id.) The brief continues, “Mexico has a right to protect the interests of its nationals within the limits of international law. Mexico seeks to ensure that its citizens present in the U.S. are accorded the human and civil rights granted under the U.S. Constitution and affirms that HB 497 threatens the human and civil rights of its nationals.” (Id.)
Utah Representative Chris Herrod, a co-sponsor of the bill, called the brief “ridiculous,” saying “I would like to ask the Mexican Government why they think their people are more important than other people trying to come here from other countries.” (Id.)
On May 10, 2011, the day the law was to go into effect, Federal District Judge Clark Waddoups issued a temporary restraining order of HB 497, preventing its implementation. (ABC News, May 11, 2011) The hearing for the case has been scheduled for July 14, 2011. (Id.) Stay tuned to FAIR for updates in this ongoing case…
In an attempt to prevent further backlash, Utah State Senator Curt Bramble (R-Provo) announced last week that he plans to introduce amendments next session to Utah’s controversial guest worker amnesty law, HB 116. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 8, 2011)
News sources report that while Sen. Bramble intends to keep the guest worker program intact – despite its direct conflict with federal law – he now says he wants to make it more difficult for illegal aliens to obtain a work permit. One amendment he is proposing would require applicants for the guest-worker permit to continuously “have an established domicile” in the state prior to May 10, 2011, rather than merely “live in” the state as currently provided for in the law. (HB 116 § 13; Salt Lake Tribune, June 8, 2011) According to Bramble, this amendment “wouldn’t necessarily preclude the agricultural worker, but it would have to be someone who is already here and intends to stay here.” (Salt Lake Tribune, June 8, 2011)
Another amendment would further alter the criteria for an illegal alien to qualify for a permit. HB 116 currently disqualifies illegal aliens who do not have health insurance or have medical debt. (HB 116 § 13) Bramble’s anticipated amendment would change this section by disqualifying those who have general debt they are “not actively working to resolve” (rather than just “medical debt”). (Salt Lake Tribune, June 8, 2011)
A third proposed amendment would require illegal aliens applying for a guest worker permit to submit to the state a list of all the tax ID numbers they have used to determine whether an applicant has ever used a stolen identification number to get a job. (Id.) If so, such information would disqualify them and would be turned over to law enforcement. (Id.) Finally, under the proposed amendments children age 16 or older belonging to a family applying for a guest-work permit must undergo the same criminal background checks as their parents. (Id.)
Sen. Bramble’s announcement that he intends to offer amendments to the guest worker amnesty law comes at a time when delegates to the June 18th Utah State Republican Party Convention threaten to devise a resolution that would repeal the law. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 8, 2011) “Our primary opposition to HB 116 is that it violates the Constitution and the Utah Republican Party platform by granting legal status to those who are here illegally,” asserted Keri Witte, sponsor of the resolution to repeal the law. (Daily Herald, June 10, 2011) She continued, “Since the so-called guest worker provision is such a key component of HB 116, it needs to be repealed and replaced. Unless and until Curt Bramble expresses willingness to address that key issue, I don't expect he will garner much more approval.” (Id.)
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