This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rep. Glenn Donnelson thinks the feds are failing miserably at enforcing federal immigration laws, so he's taking the law into his own hands.
The North Ogden Republican is pushing legislation that would force the Utah Department of Public Safety to train state officers to enforce the federal laws, while encouraging local law enforcement agencies to do the same.
In reality, House Bill 105 would handcuff police officers in their efforts to ensure community safety. And we're not the only ones who think so.
Chris Burbank, Salt Lake City police chief, says undocumented residents will be less likely to report crimes and cooperate with police if they fear they'll be deported.
And Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says simply: "The answer is to let the federal agents do their job and let us do our job in Utah."
Donnelson's proposed law is also redundant. Virginia Kice of Immigration and Customs Enforcement says her agency can, upon request, train any law enforcement agency to enforce immigration laws, no state approval required.
To summarize, the law is not only unnecessary but inflammatory. The police don't like it, the state attorney general doesn't like it, and we don't like it either.
Utah law enforcement officers should enforce the local and state crime codes. Federal immigration officers should enforce federal immigration laws. That's the way it's always been. That's the way it should be.
To Donnelson, a law is a law, illegal is illegal, and a law enforcement officer enforces each and every law. He sees things in black and white, so we fully expect he'll continue to work tirelessly on Capitol Hill, writing legislation and lobbying members of the House of Representatives in his attempts to solve our nation's immigration problems.
Trouble is, he's on the wrong hill, and he's in the wrong house.
If Donnelson wants to work on immigration issues, he needs to run for Congress. Immigration law is a federal affair.
Utah law enforcement officers should enforce the local and state crime codes. Federal immigration officers should enforce federal immigration laws. That's the way it's always been. That's the way it should be.