Jim Kouri
State workers who identified illegal aliens face criminal charges
By Jim Kouri
"We live in a topsy-turvey nation and this story should anger all Americans. Suddenly our nation is prosecuting patriots while protecting lawbreakers," said a former NYPD police officer and private security firm owner.
The Utah state employees, suspected of blowing the whistle on more than a thousand illegal immigrants living in the state, have been placed on administrative leave and will likely be criminally charged, according attorneys from a non-partisan, public-interest group.
Last week a list of 1,300 suspected illegal aliens was circulated anonymously to various state and federal agencies as well as media outlets, according to a statement from the Washington, DC-based Judicial Watch.
A letter was enclosed with the 29-page list that included the illegal aliens' phone numbers, addresses and birth dates. The letter, signed "Concerned Citizens of the United States," alleged that they "observed these individuals in our neighborhoods, driving on our streets, working in our stores, attending our schools and entering our public welfare buildings."
Copies of the list and letter was sent to law enforcement agencies, news media outlets and Utah state lawmakers by the group, who demanded that those named be deported.
Calling it the "deplorable" work of a "small rogue group," Utah Governor Gary Herbert quickly launched an investigation and vowed to punish any public employees responsible for participating in blowing the whistle.
So far two workers with the Utah Department of Workforce Services have been suspended and at least eight others are under investigation. All face criminal charges for violating state and federal privacy laws, according to the governor.
"We live in a topsy-turvey nation and this story should anger all Americans. Suddenly our nation is prosecuting patriots while protecting lawbreakers," said former NYPD police officer and private security firm owner Bill Fitzgerald.
Latino Project director Tony Yapias told Reuters that his Utah office was "inundated with calls from concerned Hispanics asking if they were on the list."
Utah Democrat Party officials are proud of their protecting illegal immigrants and providing them with endless public benefits, including discounted tuition at public colleges and universities as well as other perks not afforded under federal law.
Two of the state's largest cities — Salt Lake City and Provo — have official sanctuary policies that forbid public employees or law enforcement officers from inquiring about a resident's immigration status, according to Judicial Watch.
Earlier this year Utah proudly became the nation's first state to offer a special class of driver's licenses for illegal aliens who won't be ineligible to obtain the cards when new federal security standards kick in. For years, Utah was one of only a handful of states to offer illegal immigrants driver's license.
However, some Utah lawmakers plan to introduce legislation similar to the new law in Arizona, which requires state and local police to determine the immigration status of anyone they encounter in the course of their police work whom they reasonably suspect of being in the country illegally.
© Jim Kouri
July 31, 2010
"We live in a topsy-turvey nation and this story should anger all Americans. Suddenly our nation is prosecuting patriots while protecting lawbreakers," said a former NYPD police officer and private security firm owner.
The Utah state employees, suspected of blowing the whistle on more than a thousand illegal immigrants living in the state, have been placed on administrative leave and will likely be criminally charged, according attorneys from a non-partisan, public-interest group.
Last week a list of 1,300 suspected illegal aliens was circulated anonymously to various state and federal agencies as well as media outlets, according to a statement from the Washington, DC-based Judicial Watch.
A letter was enclosed with the 29-page list that included the illegal aliens' phone numbers, addresses and birth dates. The letter, signed "Concerned Citizens of the United States," alleged that they "observed these individuals in our neighborhoods, driving on our streets, working in our stores, attending our schools and entering our public welfare buildings."
Copies of the list and letter was sent to law enforcement agencies, news media outlets and Utah state lawmakers by the group, who demanded that those named be deported.
Calling it the "deplorable" work of a "small rogue group," Utah Governor Gary Herbert quickly launched an investigation and vowed to punish any public employees responsible for participating in blowing the whistle.
So far two workers with the Utah Department of Workforce Services have been suspended and at least eight others are under investigation. All face criminal charges for violating state and federal privacy laws, according to the governor.
"We live in a topsy-turvey nation and this story should anger all Americans. Suddenly our nation is prosecuting patriots while protecting lawbreakers," said former NYPD police officer and private security firm owner Bill Fitzgerald.
Latino Project director Tony Yapias told Reuters that his Utah office was "inundated with calls from concerned Hispanics asking if they were on the list."
Utah Democrat Party officials are proud of their protecting illegal immigrants and providing them with endless public benefits, including discounted tuition at public colleges and universities as well as other perks not afforded under federal law.
Two of the state's largest cities — Salt Lake City and Provo — have official sanctuary policies that forbid public employees or law enforcement officers from inquiring about a resident's immigration status, according to Judicial Watch.
Earlier this year Utah proudly became the nation's first state to offer a special class of driver's licenses for illegal aliens who won't be ineligible to obtain the cards when new federal security standards kick in. For years, Utah was one of only a handful of states to offer illegal immigrants driver's license.
However, some Utah lawmakers plan to introduce legislation similar to the new law in Arizona, which requires state and local police to determine the immigration status of anyone they encounter in the course of their police work whom they reasonably suspect of being in the country illegally.
© Jim Kouri
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