Utah lawmakers advance bill mandating jail time for some immigrants after making big changes to initial legislation

SALT LAKE CITY — A committee of Utah lawmakers has approved a bill that would mandate jail time for some immigrants who are in the country illegally and are found guilty of committing certain crimes.

This bill is vastly different from a previous version that could’ve had major ramifications for all immigrants in Utah lacking permanent legal status.

The original version of SB90, sponsored by state Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, would’ve enhanced criminal charges against defendants who are in the country illegally.

For example, under this version of the bill, if a defendant was charged with a class A misdemeanor, their charge would be enhanced to a third-degree felony if they were in the country illegally. The proposal would’ve enhanced charges starting at the level of a class C misdemeanor through the level of a second-degree felony.

But, at a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, Musselman proposed a substitute version of the bill that is drastically different from the original text, which the committee voted to adopt.

The new version of the bill instead mandates jail time for defendants who are found guilty of committing certain crimes, but only if that defendant has illegally reentered the country after being deported and has a previous conviction on their record.

Musselman told the committee that the bill’s purpose was to help stop a “revolving door” of people being deported and illegally coming back to Utah over and over again. According to Musselman, he was told of one case before introducing the bill in which a person accused of committing a crime in Utah had previously been deported 11 times.

He told the committee the bill’s goal was to target those suspected of being involved with criminal organizations.

“If we’re trying to specifically target those that are involved in organized crime, then we need to… really target the very specific set of individuals and their actions,” Musselman said. “That’s what this bill now does.”

Public commenters in attendance for Tuesday’s hearing were a mixed bag in terms of being for or against the legislation.

Hyrum Gonzalez, one of the public commenters in attendance, told the committee he had some problems with the initial bill but thinks the new substitute does a good job at targeting people who could, “potentially harm the community,” rather than the immigrant population as a whole.

Gonzalez told KSL NewsRadio after the hearing he was pleased with some of the changes in the legislation. He said based on where the bill started to what it’s become, “this is the best possible outcome we could’ve possibly had.”

However, Gonzalez said he still had some concerns with the bill, specifically with mandating jail time and how that impacts the discretion of judges.

The committee ultimately voted to approve the bill with four “yeas” and two “nay” votes. It’ll now head to the full Senate for consideration.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Hyrum Gonzalez was affiliated with Comunidades Unidas. Comunidades Unidas has since clarified that Gonzalez is not authorized to speak on their behalf.

Adam Small is a reporter for KSL NewsRadio. He primarily reports on the Great Salt Lake and Natural Resources. Follow him on Facebook and X.  

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