‘A violation of the Sermon on the Mount’: Controversial immigration bill stalls in Utah Legislature

One of the most controversial bills of the legislative session has stalled in the Legislature following pushback from both advocates and lawmakers.

The bill, HB88, is sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee, a Layton Republican who aims to strip public services from anyone in the country illegally, including vaccines, meal delivery programs, nutrition assistance, homeless services and communicable disease treatment, among potentially other programs.

After multiple substitutions to the bill and a contentious hearing in the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee earlier this month, lawmakers ultimately moved to pass the bill to the House floor by a vote of 7-3.

But when the bill came up for consideration by the full House on Monday, it was ultimately circled — set aside for lawmakers to reconsider at a later date — after a number of Republicans spoke out against the legislation.

“I was hoping that the [substitute to the bill] would say we’re not going to tell people they can’t have food or access to food, and I’m certainly glad that it does not include children, but even adults need food and other services occasionally,” Rep. Cheryl Acton, R-West Jordan, said. “It’s a violation, really, of the Sermon on the Mount.”

“When someone asks you for bread and you give them a stone,” she said, “that’s a violation of some of our most fundamental principles that predate statehood.”

Bountiful Republican Rep. Raymond Ward raised concerns about a part of the bill that would make it an infraction for state employees who provide services to people without verifying their immigration status and would allow for the removal of a state agency director who “knowingly violates or allows an employee to violate” the law.

“Our safety nets in many places are already pretty thin,” Ward said on the floor. “People fall through them already. But if we deliberately go back and say … we’re going to take action against [anyone] who tries to help you out, to me, that is not right, and that’s a road that I hope we do not go down.”

And asked about access to homeless shelters by Rep. James Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, Lee said it was a “simple thing” for people to prove their citizenship status before entering a shelter.

“I disagree with that. It’s not a simple thing,” Dunnigan said. “Homeless shelters are busy. They’re overrun. People are going in and out all the time, and it’s a challenge, and many of them just want to get in out of the elements. They have mental health illnesses. It’s not that simple.”

Lee has pushed the bill as vital for protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring that public services only go to people who pay taxes. But people in the country illegally pay millions in taxes.

According to a 2024 study from the left-leaning nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, those in the country illegally paid $100 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022. In Utah, according to the report, undocumented immigrants paid higher tax rates than the top 1% of the income scale.

After bipartisan pushback on the floor, Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, moved to circle Lee’s bill. Lee moved to reject the motion, but was overruled by a voice vote, and the bill was set aside.

Asked for comment Wednesday, Lee wrote in a text message that there was “massive public outcry in favor of the bill,” and said he was “looking forward to it being uncircled and passing.”

However, even if the legislation does return to the House floor and pass, Senate lawmakers do not seem to have an appetite for the bill.

“It’s interesting that one of the most aggressive bills I think in the House right now is circled on their board,” Senate Majority Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, said during a news conference Tuesday. “It just shows how difficult the issue is and how difficult these discussions are.”

Asked if he would prefer the bill never make it to the Senate, McKell joked that he didn’t hear the question.

Senate lawmakers have historically been a more moderating force in the Legislature, sometimes killing or amending bills from the House that they view as too extreme. Senate discussion of the House immigration bill had a particularly different tone among Senate leaders compared to comments made by House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, earlier this week.

“I think it’s fair to have another conversation around, what are our immigration policies and are we attracting a larger portion of immigrants, illegal immigrants, undocumented immigrants, to Utah versus what other states are?” Schultz said during a news conference Monday. “Utahns have always been very open and welcoming, but we also want to make sure that we’re not straining our resources and that we can integrate those that are here.”

And although Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, did not comment on the substance of Lee’s bill, he said he’d like to see the data to back up Schultz’s claims that Utah is incentivizing illegal immigration.

“I don’t think Utah has had any disproportionate share,” he said.

As for HB88 specifically, Adams said, “We’re going to let the House do what they want to do with the bills. We’ll deal with them as they come over.”

Note to readers • The Salt Lake Tribune is making this story about the Utah Legislature free to all. Donate to support our nonprofit newsroom.