Utah Follows in Arizona's Immigration Footsteps

Back in April, the state of Arizona passed what the New York Times calls the nation's "toughest bill" on illegal immigration. Now the state of Utah is considering passing a similar bill. TIME reports that 12 Utah legislators from the house and senate-including members of both the Republican and Democrat party-traveled to Arizona to better understand the impact passing such a law could possibly have in Utah. The article also discusses a bill titled Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act written by Utah Representative Stephen Sandstrom. This bill, just like the one passed in Arizona, would "require local police officers to verify the immigration status of an arrested person if there were 'reasonable suspicion the person is an illegal alien," according to TIME. The bill "enforces federal law on a state level," Sandstrom said.
Just barely a draft, this immigration bill is already beginning to cause just as much controversy as the bill passed in Arizona.
Were this bill to be passed in the January legislative session, it would cause terrible problems for the state of Utah. There is no doubt that some residents would rather leave the state than live in fear of being persecuted. If a mass amount of people leave Utah, the state could face a major economic downturn. Businesses would lose customers and employees. It would also cost the state a lot of money to have local officers trained in order for them to be able to handle their new responsibilities and routines were the bill to pass. Money would also have to be spent to build new holding facilities if there were no room in the ones already existing.
This bill also only addresses those who are illegal, and not necessarily those who help them out by giving them jobs. In order to successfully handle illegal immigration, this bill must also address those who are accomplices; some sort of punishment or fine should be placed into action.
This proposed bill, just like in Arizona, could lead to talk of racial profiling. As previously stated, proof of immigration status would not be asked for unless there was reasonable suspicion that the person in question was an illegal alien. Someone who is Caucasian is more likely to be viewed as an American citizen, or at least legally in the United States, than someone who is not-it is simply the way our society works, unfortunately.
One issue that seems to not be addressed in this bill, however, is how it would affect the Development Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act)-which was defeated in the Senate, but may be proposed again- if it were to be passed. The DREAM Act would allow "undocumented students in college to qualify for financial aid and a pathway to citizenship," according to the Golden Gate Press. Were both of these bills to be passed at some point in the future, they would have to work well with one another, so as to not conflict with each bill's purpose.
The Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act still has much revision ahead before it can find a way to address all different aspects of immigration in a way that will positively affect the state of Utah.