Deporting an immigrant or refugee who’s convicted of certain misdemeanors could get easier in Utah. State lawmakers want to increase the maximum penalty for violent class A misdemeanors and charges of driving under the influence to one year. This would walk back a 2019 law that decreased the maximum penalty to 364 days.
Carrying a penalty of at least one year bumps many crimes up to what the federal government considers aggravated felonies. That means a conviction can lead to automatic removal for immigrants, including those with legal status, and refugees.
Republican Rep. Candice Pierucci said the provision in her bill, HB226, is about cooperating with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
During floor debate in the House on Feb. 12, Pierucci noted her district has seen an increase in new immigrants, both with and without legal status. She cited a December poll from Deseret News and the Hinckley Institute of Politics that found 86% of Utahns supported deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have committed crimes.
“This is one of the many bills that we have worked on to make sure that we are righting the course in Utah and aligning ourselves ... with the federal government to make sure they are not in our country when they are here illegally,” she said.
This change would also affect people who are in the U.S. legally, like refugees and green card holders. Per federal law, “Any alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission is deportable.” Many crimes are considered aggravated felonies when an individual is imprisoned for at least a year.
Depending on the offense, an individual may not need to serve the full year. Simply being convicted of a crime that is punishable by a year or more can be enough.
Jim McConkie, co-founder of the Refugee Justice League, helped bring about the 2019 change to the 364-day penalty. He said Pierucci is misinformed about the consequences of her bill.
“She doesn't know what she's talking about,” he said. “I'm sure it's not intentional on her part.”
Her bill conflates refugees with immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, he said. Roughly 60,000 refugees live in Utah, according to a 2021 estimate from the Kem. C. Gardner Policy Institute. Refugees undergo extensive vetting before being admitted into the country.
The number of refugee arrivals to Utah decreased during President Donald Trump’s first term but has been rising since, according to the most recent data from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
“When you understand that a refugee is not illegal, that they were invited into the United States, oftentimes for acts of service, where they risk their life for Americans in Afghanistan or Iraq — when you understand that, you want to thank them and reach out and help them.”
McConkie said he does not know of any unintended consequences of the 2019 law. He credited the move to undo it as evidence of the Legislature’s support of President Trump’s efforts to be tough on immigration.
“There's this kind of bandwagon effect to help control our borders and make sure that people are coming into the country legally. It's spilling over and hurting the refugee population again in the state of Utah.”
He said sending refugees back to their home countries is dangerous. Refugees, by definition, have fled due to unsafe conditions.
Republican Rep. Val Peterson voted to reduce the penalty in 2019. He also voted for Pierucci’s bill to change it back.
“One of the things that we as a Legislature discovered is that we rolled some things back too far,” he said. “So you've seen this coming through and changing some things back to the way they were.”
McConkie said the current bill, which only increases the penalty for violent misdemeanors and driving under the influence, is better than the original, which set a blanket increase for all class A misdemeanors. Still, he believes the system works best when individuals can plead their cases.
“It's a better system than having an automatic provision which doesn't take into account the complexity and the many varied situations of life.”
He noted ICE can still deport someone who’s in the country illegally and has been convicted of a crime, even if the maximum penalty is less than a year.
The bill advanced out of the House on a 62-9-4 vote. It now goes to the Senate for debate.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
