A war on illegal immigration is on.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced the official launch of a new major crimes strike force Wednesday afternoon. It's a team of six state and local agents cooperating with federal agencies to crack down on felony-level crimes perpetrated by illegal immigrants.
The strike force already is investigating several cases, including the trading of drivers' licenses for drugs.
"It's judgment day" for human traffickers, drug cartels, gang members and criminals involved in violent crimes and identification fraud, Shurtleff said.
But concern looms that the strike force's agents will eventually become witch hunters for illegal immigrants as a whole.
The federal government organized its own version of the strike force, the National Fugitive Operations Program. But according to the Migration Police Institute, only 27 percent of the 72,000 people arrested between 2003 and 2008 had a criminal record.
It's a fear that would even backfire against the attorney general's mission. An essential strategy in the strike force's crackdown is receiving cooperation and tips from the Hispanic community. The fear of discovery and deportation may hinder illegal immigrants from approaching law enforcement.
The strike force agents are only investigating felony-level crimes and are not out to get illegal immigrants at traffic stops, said Marco Diaz, a member of the National Republican Hispanic Assembly.
Shurtleff said the agents have been clearly instructed not to ask or check the immigration status of anyone aiding the strike force. Enforcing federal law is "not our job," he said.
But HB81, passed during the most recent Legislative session, allows Utah law enforcement agencies to cross-deputize their men and women as federal immigration officers. The strike force's organizers declined to comment about the overlap.
The potential public backlash isn't reserved for the Hispanic community. Other taxpayers may buck at funding a strike force that protects certain illegal immigrants.
Through extensive statewide interviews of hundreds of Utahns, Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, said he found that even harsh critics of illegal immigration, such as the Utah Minutemen, have told the task force's organizers they want to see them bring justice to felons. It was Dee's HB64, passed by the state Legislature earlier this year, that created the strike force.
"As we talked, it was crime that concerned them most," he said.
The strike force's other financial backer is President Barack Obama. Federal stimulus money will fund the strike force for $891,000 each year for the next two years. Although it will accept federal money to fund the crackdown, the strike force's organizers chastise the same government for failing to keep the borders secure.
Ken Wallentine, an attorney cooperating with the strike force, said it will inform Utah's neighboring states about the crackdown.
The strike force is still hiring new agents from local law enforcement. Other states might begin to do the same.
"This is war," Shurtleff said.
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