SALT LAKE CITY — A new "ICE Out" bill that will keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents away from certain Utah locations, and also require them to remove their masks, has been introduced ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
Sponsored by State Sen. Nate Blouin (D-Salt Lake City), SB136 comes as the fervor surrounding ICE actions across the country continues to draw support and ire, especially after the shooting death of a Minneapolis woman.
If passed, the "ICE Out" bill would:
- Prohibit state and local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE in operations around a sensitive area, including churches, hospitals, libraries, or courthouses.
- Prohibit federal law enforcement from entering non-public government-operated sensitive spaces like health care service centers or shelter centers.
- Prohibit federal law enforcement from using facial coverings.
"While 'ICE Out' has become a rallying cry in recent days, this bill is the result of considerable feedback from stakeholders over the past few months," said Blouin. "Today more than ever, we understand the need to protect our community against the federal overreach of ICE, and while keeping them out of churches and other sensitive locations is a start, the end goal must be to abolish ICE.”
Utahns join nationwide 'ICE Out for Good' across Salt Lake City:
Blouin has previously announced that he will run for Congress this year, representing the new congressional district, the legality of which will be argued in front of the Utah Supreme Court.
Comunidades Unidas, a non-profit organization in Utah that works with the Latino community in the state, said it supports the "ICE Out" bill after multiple incidents in which Utahns have been detained by agents.
Utah youth soccer coach arrested by ICE released on bond, reunited with family:
“Our communities are living in fear more than ever before," said Brianna Puga with Comunidas Unidas. "Families are being forced to make impossible choices - pulling their children out of school, avoiding places of worship, and withholding seeking medical care at hospitals and clinics - because ICE has turned daily life and meeting basic needs into a danger zone."
Despite hopes from Blouin and other Democratic leaders, the bill is unlikely to pass, if it even comes to a vote, in the Republican-led legislative session that begins on Jan. 20.
