Posted: 8:57 PM- Immigrant rights and anti-war groups in California and New York are planning demonstrations Thursday for International Labor Day, but Utah Latino leaders say they won't be organizing a march here.
    Many immigrants and their supporters in the Beehive State are reluctant to rally because of the increase in immigration enforcement and state legislation targeting illegal immigration.
    Since Utah lawmakers approved a new immigration law, some Latinos - with and without documentation - are scared to voice their opinions, said Antonella Romero Packard, a spokeswoman for the Utah Hispanic/Latino Legislative Task Force. The law, which takes effect in July 2009, allows some law enforcement officers to enforce immigration laws and forces some employers to verify the U.S. documentation status of their workers.
    "They fear that if they [speak out], there might be [retaliatory] measures," she said this week.
    Still, some Latino leaders said community members differed about the planning of a May 1 march in Utah. Some supported a rally here, but others questioned the effects of such a protest because it didn't seem to work when people marched nationwide two years ago.
    In April 2006, the Dignity March drew about 40,000 people, mostly Latinos, to downtown Salt Lake City in support immigration reform and to protest national
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legislation.
    In 2007, about 2,000 people attended a May 1 rally downtown organized by the Asociación Cultural y Educativa Latino-Americana (ACELA) - the Latin American Cultural and Educational Association. Latino leaders said there isn't a need for such rallies today because there aren't any pressing immigration reform issues or proposals.
    Rolando Murillo, an ACELA spokesman, said it appears that illegal immigration has taken a back seat to the war and economy in the 2008 presidential campaign, which might be a good thing for the cause.
    "We don't want to make it an emotional issue at this time," he said. "We don't want to revive it."
    Tony Yapias, a key organizer of the Dignity March, said he and others are waiting to see what the new president and lawmakers propose next spring to deal with illegal immigration before they start organizing a demonstration in Utah.
    "There will be a right time when we will march again," said Yapias, Proyecto Latino de Utah director. "But, this is not the right time."
    Utah is home to an estimated 100,000 undocumented immigrants.
    jsanchez@sltrib.com