A conservative Utah state legislator has proposed a new restrictive
immigration regulation similar to Arizona’s controversial immigration
enforcement bill. The bill, introduced by State Rep. Stephen Sandstrom
(R), had its first hearing this week and contains a number of
provisions similar to those in the Arizona legislation that were
blocked by a federal judge earlier this month.
Included in Sandstrom’s bill is the requirement that police, when
stopping individuals for other violations, question people’s
immigration status if they have reasonable suspicion that the person is
in the U.S. illegally.
A group of Utah legislators had traveled to Arizona this summer to
obtain guidance on how to draft such a law. Similar groups from
Tennessee and Colorado have also recently traveled to Arizona for the
same purpose.
