Utah Anti-Immigrant Group IDs 1,300 Supposed Illegals

(July 14) -- Officials in Utah fear that a group of anti-immigration activists may have taken matters into their own hands.

An anonymous group of "concerned citizens" sent a letter this week to newspapers in Utah containing more than 1,300 names of people it says are in the country illegally. It also enclosed a similar letter it had sent to federal and state officials in April.

"We are enclosing a list of individuals who we strongly believe are in this country illegally and should be immediately deported," the April 4 letter reads.

Though the group says it is not violent, the letter includes sensitive information like Social Security numbers, phone numbers and even the due dates of pregnant women on the list, according to reports from multiple Utah news agencies who received the document. KSL Newsradio in Utah reports that nearly every name on the list is of Spanish origin.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert wants to know how the information was obtained, and he announced on Twitter that he'd directed Utah authorities to see if the list had been leaked illegally by a state employee.

For its part, the group claims the list is "the result of hard work by a large force of tax-paying citizens over the course of many months who live throughout the state of Utah."

The list has not yet been verified, but at least one person on the list has said publicly that he is an illegal immigrant.

"We have a reason why we came here to live, to at least have something better," Israel Perez told KSL on Tuesday. "But people trying to kick us out, we be like dogs running around and putting us in a cage and sending us back somewhere we don't want." Perez said his parents brought him to the United States when he was 10 years old.

In the wake of Arizona's tough new immigration law, the list has sparked fear among immigrants in Utah and raised questions about whether the already heated debate over immigration has taken a vigilante turn.

"My phone has been ringing nonstop since this morning with people finding out they're on the list," Tony Yapias, former director of the Utah Office of Hispanic Affairs, told The Associated Press. "They're feeling terrorized. They're very scared."

The letter's language -- which seemed to suggest that members of the group had spent time tracking suspected illegal immigrants in their day-to-day lives -- did not help.

"Our group observes these individuals in our neighborhoods, driving on our streets, working in our stores, attending our schools and entering our public welfare buildings," the group wrote.

A promise that the letter's authors would be "listening and watching" to make sure their fellow citizens turn in illegal immigrants didn't sit well with some Utah lawmakers, either.

Democratic state Rep. Neil Hansen called the list makers cowards. "Here's somebody accusing people of being illegals and yet they're not willing to put their name on this," he told ABC 4 Utah. "It almost seems [like] cowardice."

Utah Minutemen Project has denied any involvement in the list, but co-chairman Eli Cawley said he supports the group.

"It's probably against some privacy laws," Cawley told KSL. "But I think in the interest of preserving our civilization, preserving our society and protecting the people of the state of Utah, I think that's a greater interest than protecting the privacy of some individuals."


Utah Letter