Immigrant advocates ask leaders to affirm Utah's 'tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees'

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — The NAACP, several Utah immigration attorneys and the head of a group that advocates for refugees are wading into the debate over illegal immigration.

In an open letter signed by Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP's Salt Lake Branch, Refugee Justice League President Norman McKellar and 12 others, they ask Gov. Spencer Cox and other elected leaders "to affirm Utah's long-standing tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees." Williams released the Jan. 30 letter to the media on Thursday.

The letter puts a particular focus on preventing family separations as President Donald Trump vows to bolster efforts to pursue and deport immigrants here illegally, chiefly criminal immigrants. Trump's varied executive orders aimed at more aggressively addressing illegal immigration, it states, have sparked fear in the immigrant community.

"We ask that you speak out forcefully and do whatever is within your power to change this dynamic and make clear that Utah's citizens and elected officials will forcefully oppose any efforts to destroy Utah families with unwarranted deportations. Silently hoping that federal officials will not go too far or will somehow arrive at a 'balanced' approach is not sufficient," reads the letter.

For his part, Cox has expressed strong support for Trump's plans to pursue immigrants here illegally who have committed crimes and said he will cooperate with the president and his administration. Still, Utah is under no requirement to copy the federal government in addressing the immigration issue, McKellar told KSL.com.

Norm McKellar, Refugee Justice League executive director, holds a rights card at a press conference at the Utah State Bar office in Salt Lake City on Jan. 29. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)

"Utah doesn't have to handle it the same way. They don't have to comply with these new executive orders that are coming down. They don't have to allow local law enforcement to team up with the federal government and take resources away from our actual issues to go and serve the president's agenda," he said. Reps from the Refugee Justice League, an advocacy group, worry about an uptick in discriminatory activity against refugees with Trump back in office.

Other signatories to the letter include Corey Hodges, lead pastor at the Point Church in Salt Lake City, which dubs itself a "multicultural community," the Utah Minority Bar Association and several attorneys.

The letter asks that Cox and other elected officials in Utah do what they can to focus deportation efforts on immigrants here illegally who have committed crimes. They seek assurances that "noncriminal undocumented citizens will not be subject to immigration raids and family separations." They also ask Utah officials to press federal leaders to reverse Trump's decisions halting the entry of new refugees and opening schools, hospitals and churches up to immigration raids.

Trump and his backers maintain that immigrants here illegally drain public resources and are a threat to public safety. The letter, by contrast, focuses on the contributions of immigrants and refugees over the years to Utah. "Today, immigrants make up a significant portion of our workforce, contribute to our economy and enrich our culture. These individuals are our neighbors, coworkers and friends, and they deserve our protection and support, not fear, discrimination or displacement," reads the letter.