ImmigrationUtah concludes state resources were used in immigrant list

Published 16 July 2010

Utah Department of Workforce Services database is the source of the list of 1,300 circulated to news outlets in the state; the agency says hundreds had access to database; using state resources to compile the list would violate several state and federal privacy laws, state officials and legal scholars said

State officials said Thursday they had uncovered evidence that someone used a state employment database to help anti-immigration activists compile a list purporting to identify 1,300 illegal immigrants (“Detailed list of 1,300 alleged illegal immigrants circulated in Utah,” 14 July 2010 HSNW).

Angie Welling, a spokeswoman for Governor Gary R. Herbert, said the information in the list was “contained entirely in the Department of Workforce Services database.” She said investigators expected to turn their evidence over to the state attorney general’s office by Monday.

Workforce Services officials told NBC station KSL-TV of Salt Lake city that more than a thousand state workers had access to the database.

Using state resources to compile the list would violate several state and federal privacy laws, state officials and legal scholars said.

Latino activists called circulation of the list “domestic terrorism” and called for a federal investigation Thursday. “This is a very serious crime,” said Ernie Gamonal, vice chairman of the Utah Democratic Hispanic Caucus. “In the United States of America, we don’t make ‘black lists’ anymore. For that reason, I would like to see the Department of Justice look in and determine if they need to take further action.”

MSNBC reports that the 30-page document — which included addresses, phone numbers, and birthdates for about 1,300 people it said were in the country illegally, in addition to Social Security data and medical information for a small number, such as “baby due 4/4/10” — was distributed to a wide range of news organizations and state law enforcement agencies Monday. None of the recipients has released the actual list of names, almost all of which are of Latino origin.

A cover letter demanded that the people on the list be “deported immediately” with a call to “DO YOUR JOB AND STOP MAKING EXCUSES! WE DEMAND ACTION.” It identified the senders as Concerned Citizens of the United States, a previously unknown group.