This bill was written to terrorize the Utah Latino community. I fear that even without it passing it has already succeeded.
Utah State Representative Steven Sandstrom just formally put forward his “Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act” that will be discussed in the 2011 Utah Legislative session. Despite his press conference being scheduled on a Friday morning he was met with well over 100 protestors and gave his presentation surrounded by the quiet but angry crowd. One young blonde man wore a gag and stood directly behind the legislator in the Utah State Capitol Rotunda with his thumbs pointing downward for over 45 minutes while the legislator spoke.
I hesitated to encourage people to stand so close to the senator. There is a lot of tension around this right now and people are rightfully furious. We all agreed we would let the Representative speak and not intrude but we would voice our opposition afterwards. I was afraid it would go badly but people were VERY restrained considering the circumstances and kept outbursts to a minimum.
I stood behind the Representative holding my own sign saying “ This IS a racist law.” Other signs seen included; ‘who would Jesus deport,’ Love one another, ‘ stop dehumanizing immigrants,’ ‘Read the 14th amendment,’ ‘ March with Us,’ ‘This law is fascist,’ ‘Having a baby is not a conspiracy, and ‘ Standing on the Side of Love.’
Utah is a family friendly state and it is shameful that anti-immigrant sentiment has begun to take hold. Many families came with young children.
Once the representative finished speaking the crowd and reporters began posing questions. One man asked how he feels about breaking up families. Sandstrom responded by emphasizing that his law is about the rule of law. It is an argument the Mormon lawmakers hides behind. It is Mormon scripture that they believe in upholding and sustaining the law.
When asked if US citizens will be detained if they don’t have identification Sandstrom responded by saying that all they have to do is identify themselves as a US citizen and of course they would be let go. But anyone who has a valid green card is required to carry their identification on them at all times. I smell some stinky holes in his argument. It is likely in theory then that any person stopped by police for say, jaywalking, speeding or more could be detained if they could not immediately prove they are a US citizen. It is a clear violation of the fourth amendment.
There is also a tidy provision for any US citizen to be able to sue any agency that limits enforcement of federal immigration laws. I sense a little money maker for the FAIR folks. The Representative failed to address the question of a fiscal note but implementation and enforcement will exceed tens of millions at the least.
There is great irony in that because Mormons are historically notorious for ignoring American laws. They printed their own money, the Prophet Joseph Smith was notorious for suppression of the press, they practiced polygamy long after it was illegal, Mormons continued to discriminate against African Americans for a decade after the civil rights act and Mormons notoriously ran the Native Americans out of the territory and stole their land while it was still a part of Mexico. It was nice to see so many good Mormons there voicing opposition to the bill and standing with Utah’s Latino community; many of which are LDS themselves. There is no doubt this bill will do a great deal more damage to the image of the LDS church.
Representative Sandstrom when asked about the Mormon (LDS) Church’s stance on the issue claimed the Mormon Church’s calls for compassion were not a formal stance and dismissed concerns from other Mormons in the crowd at how this will reflect poorly on their religion. It is frustrating that some people are so dense that even with a strong call for compassion they hide behind the tenets of their religeon. Sandstrom is either misguided or greedy but he definitely just does not get it. Two weeks ago the LDS church did release a strongly worded statement calling for compassion on the issue. It is clear that they will be forced to take a strong position on immigration or they risk being labeled a racist organization. Already anecdotes are coming from missionaries in Latin America who say the Arizona bill is hurting their chances at proselytizing. It is certain that these bills being pushed by LDS legislators will only do further damage to a church already hurting from their widely publicized participation in Proposition 8.
Arizona State Representative Pearce who proposed the Arizona bill is also Mormon and has met multiple times with Sandstrom and other representatives from Utah in the Patrick Henry Caucus. Representative Sandstrom also said that Patrick Henry Caucuses will be formed across the United States and work to pass similar ‘show me your papers bills.’ Many Mormons opposed to the bill attended the press conference and openly voiced their opposition.
Nobody else spoke. No other state legislators were available to lend support to his bill.
A few people who came to support Sandstrom were seen leaving very early and his supporters all remained silent. Sandstrom left his press conference as protestors chanted “Shame on Sandstrom, Shame on Sandstrom,” a chant that went on for several minutes and echoed through the marble halls of the capitol building as he scurried through the crowd and to the elevator.
After today it is clear that Utahns will not stand idly by and watch the rights of so many of their neighbors, friends and family be violated by a show me your papers law. Perhaps Latino leader Archie Archuletta said it best yesterday when he told the press, “What are we to do? Will we start hiding mothers and children in our attics?”
The example seems extreme but it is not. As of today many families are no longer taking food stamps to feed their children. People don’t understand that the bill is not law yet. Women are avoiding prenatal care. People don’t want to call the police because they are afraid that the person living in their house who is undocumented will be deported. Battered women will not call for help because they are afraid of being deported or causing their abusive partner to be deported. People who see no other option will leave the state and return to impoverished communities ruled by violence and poverty. This bill will cost lives and Steven Sandstrom will have blood on his hands.
This bill was written to terrorize the Utah Latino community. I fear that even without it passing it has already succeeded.