Utah investigates 'illegal immigrant' list

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: UPI

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has ordered an investigation into whether state employees helped make a list of alleged illegal immigrants e-mailed to state authorities.

The list of 1,300 people accused of being undocumented immigrants was sent Monday to law enforcement agencies, the Utah House and Senate and media organizations, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday.

Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling said the governor odered a number of state agencies to look into whether anyone inappropriately accessed official computer records, the newspaper said.

"If it reveals any kind of evidence of wrongdoing or release of private information we will turn it over to the attorney general's Office," Welling said.


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/07/14/Utah-investigates-illegal-immigrant-list/UPI-15961279087383/

---

Wonder how many in the black list were not hispanics?

[slackmaster]

1. Because they are on a list, it would not be proper to call them "undocumented" any more

:hi:

[sui generis]

2. those damn norwegians in their cable knit sweaters

just burn me up. Especially on the ski lifts. I think we should randomly stop them on the slopes and ask to see their papers. They act all entitled too, like they're better than us just because they have a higher standard of living, lower infant mortality, better overall health and longevity and free primary health care. Damn uppity Swedes, Danes and Norwegians.

[AlbertCat]

3. What next?

"There is a secret conspiracy of Jewish lawyers......"

[Blue_Tires]

4. wow... we really have regressed to the times of "spy on your neighbor"

And lists of names and addresses of "un-americans" and "deviants" accidentally falling into the hands of people motivated to take the law into their own hands...It was done during the Red Scare, Civil Rights, Vietnam Peace Movement, Gay Rights, Abortion Wars of the early 90s (my uncle's name ended up on one of those lists, but luckily nothing happened), Post-9/11 Islamophobia and now...

If the list was sent to LEOs and the media, then it was almost certainly sent to (if not generated by) some of the more extremist organizations, since this is a page out of their playbook...

If anyone on the list should come under bodily harm or abuse or worse from a 'concerned citizen' visiting their home or workplace, things could get a damn sight uglier in Utah -- Latinos are not a tiny minority who have to hide in plain sight unlike some of those others listed...

[deacon_sephiroth]

7. and witch hunts

let us not forget witch hunts

[sui generis]

8. best cure for a witch hunt is to accuse everyone of being a witch

I'm a son of a witch and pretty witchy myself. :P

[davidinalameda]

10. if your neighbor is a criminal

what would you do?

[AlphaCentauri]

11. Let me rephrase that

if your neighbor has a hispanic surname what would you do?

[davidinalameda]

13. make friends so I'll get dinner invites

I love most Hispanic food

[AlphaCentauri]

16. isn't Mexican food decimating the US culinary culture? n/t

[davidinalameda]

17. hell no

US culinary culture is mac and cheese and burgers

[deacon_sephiroth]

18. hotdogs

n/t

[davidinalameda]

20. German

[deacon_sephiroth]

22. macaroni...

italian

[Blue_Tires]

14. you mean suspected criminal...

and believing someone is a criminal is a little different than actually witnessing someone commit a criminal act from my front window...

No one has verified the names on the list, and the ONE woman the S.L. Tribune interviewed is a legal citizen...

[davidinalameda]

21. if you're living next door to someone, you probably know what's going on

with them

and if you believe someone to be a criminal, you have to have something to base that belief on, right?

[JoeyT]

37. No not really.

Most people that believe their neighbors are criminals probably arrived at the conclusion because their music is the wrong kind or too loud, skin the wrong tone, clothes the wrong style, hair the wrong length, wrong kind of car, too many friends or not enough friends, not friendly enough or too friendly, wrong accent, too many kids or not enough kids, supporting the wrong kind of political movements, and too much/wrong kind of body modification. We all know about "those" kind of people, after all.

Random personal preferences that have absolutely nothing to do with criminal activity, in other words.

[LanternWaste]

19. I would first ask myself how I knew...

I would first ask myself how I knew he was a criminal. The answer would more often than be, "I don't, I merely suspect (at best)".

My second step would be to STFU and spend my time attending to those things I should be attending to.

[EFerrari]

24. Immigration law is not criminal law.

This sentence hereafter to be known as #7.

[Odin2005]

47. I thought the same thing.

:(

[pinboy3niner]

5. "Virtually all the surnames are Latino, the newspaper said."

More paranoia-inducing info from the link:

The list of people accused of being in the United States illegally included addresses, birth dates, phone numbers and -- in 31 cases -- social security numbers, the Tribune said. The list also included the names and dates of birth of 201 children.

According to other news reports, the list also provided due dates for two pregnant women on the list.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. About the pregnant women

the list may have came out from a hospital or a clinic

[pinboy3niner]

12. That's a possibility only for the pregnant women

The list may have been compiled from multiple sources. The unsigned letter accompanying the list claimed that those listed were identified through observation, and legal Mexican nationals were used to "infiltrate their social networks" to develop information. So some of the information may even have been provided by the unsuspecting targets themselves.

It's hard to imagine that the information could have been developed through observation and infiltration alone, or that the mystery group would have had the resources to conduct surveillance on 1,300 people. And for all we know, the reference to use of Mexican nationals could be a red herring, especially if one or members of the group are public employees who illegally disclosed information from confidential government records.

[AlphaCentauri]

15. They could also get those record from one of those report illegals websites

or maybe census workers

[greiner3]

6. I'll bet kittens to gold;

That'll be the last time this is heard of.

[eringer]

23. And Now So It Begins

The Tea Party's Kristallnacht.

[Sub Atomic]

25. List of alleged illegal immigrants mailed in Utah

Source: USA Today

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A list containing the names and personal information of 1,300 people an anonymous group contends are illegal immigrants has been mailed around Utah, terrifying the state's Hispanic community.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert wrote in a tweet Tuesday that he has asked state agencies to investigate the origin of the list — sent anonymously to several media outlets, and law enforcement and state agencies. A letter accompanying the list demands that those on it be deported immediately.

Most of the names on the list are of Hispanic origin. The list also contains highly detailed personal information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, workplaces, addresses and phone numbers. Names of children are included, along with due dates of pregnant women on the list.

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

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-07-14-immigrant-list_N.htm?csp=34news&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

[Doctor_J]

26. Is this still LBN? I think we had it yesterday.

[Sub Atomic]

27. Sorry, I must have missed it.

Mods, please move to GD.

Thanks
-SA

[Tx4obama]

29. I didn't see it yesterday on LBN. Do you have a link?

Also, I didn't hear anything about it on TV yesterday either.
It is being covered by Keith Olbermann tonight on Countdown.

[Doctor_J]

31. i can't find the thread. I didn't reply. The discussion,

besides of course the fear mongering and racism, focussed on who could have gotten such detailed info - DHS, ICE, local PD?

[ck4829]

28. Wow, this list sounds very detailed, a little bit too detailed

If people are "deported immediately", how many of them would have been 100% legal citizens.

And it already sounds like a lot of people on this list aren't illegal immigrants at all.

[Doctor_J]

30. we decided ;-) yesterday that there must be a leak somewhere

where could these kinds of details come from?

[Common Sense Party]

34. I'd love to see a copy of the list. I'm sure some of my neighbors

and friends are on it. Some are here illegally, many are not. I'd be interested to see if they made the list.

[EFerrari]

36. Leak from a state agency. And it seems to be a list of Latinos

not of undocumented people because the status of people on that list is very mixed.

[alp227]

32. Those concerned citizens still think they're in high school.

Sheesh. They need to grow up. Oh, and conservatives think that all illegal immigrants=criminals. Well this time guess who's committing a crime?

A community activist from Salt Lake City was interviewed on Keith Olbermann today on the #1 story.

[TomCADem]

33. Amazing That "Small Government" Conservatives Are Reporting Their Neighbors To Big Brother

Are compiling enemies of the State lists, and reporting inviduals to the government. George Orwell would be proud.

[pinboy3niner]

35. Remember 'Report an Illegal' Day (courtesy of Neo-Nazis) ?

It reminds me of the neo-nazi hate group that designated Cinco de Mayo "Report an Illegal" Day in Phoenix.

Group hands out fliers to "Report An Illegal" Day
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4365880

[Omaha Steve]

38. And they say Obama is Hitler

How do they not see themselves as "brown shirts"?

[IScreamSundays]

39. Utah close to determining whether state resources used in immigrant list

Source: MSNBC

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials said they were close to identifying the possible source of a mysterious list purporting to identify 1,300 illegal immigrants, acknowledging that a state employment database compiles all the information cited in the document — a database available to more than a thousand state employees.

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.

Circulation of the list was immediately denounced by groups across the spectrum of the immigration debate, including several organizations that support cracking down on illegal immigrants. Gov. Gary R. Herbert ordered an investigation to determine whether state resources were used in compiling the list, which would violate several state and federal privacy laws.

snip>

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38263433/ns/us_news-life/

[Kali]

40. I'm just hearing about this on Democracy Now!

fuckers!

[Hamlette]

42. my greatest fear is this spreads to other states, or there is even more in Utah

people who work in an office that administers medicaid, food stamps, TANF all have access to the information on this list (with a little bit of work). All it takes is one tea bagger in one of those offices and lists can get out everywhere.

[pinboy3niner]

44. In Phoenix, a neo-nazi group declared Cinco de Mayo "Report an Illegal" Day

Group hands out fliers to "Report An Illegal Day"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4365880

[Spazito]

41. Talk about misleading...

"None of the recipients has released the actual list of names, almost all of which are of Latino origin." At least one recipient, KSL station in Salt Lake City READ off the names on the list but, I guess reading all the names on the list on air is okay, just don't "release" the list.

Here is the thread posted by Drunken Irishman after watching the news show that READ off the names on the list:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x371959

[EFerrari]

45. So dangerous. These people won't be happy until someone gets hurt. n/t

[Spazito]

46. I am truly horrified by what is happening with regard to to this issue...

this is, imo, the McCarthy era re-visited. I have seen posts on DU that seem to find this kind of witch-hunt perfectly acceptable. Scary stuff.

[pampango]

43. "Latinos Feel “Under Siege,” Utah ‘Immigrant Hit List’ Includes Social Security Numbers, Due Dates"

http://americasvoiceonline.org/blog/entry/arizona_hits_utah_list_of_latinos_described_as_illegal_aliens_circulat/

At a time in which the Arizona GOP has made it acceptable for American citizens to go on witch-hunts for undocumented immigrants (i.e. suing police if they don't profile people based on shoes, accents, and skin color), comes this highly disturbing story. The New York Times' Kirk Johnson reports, in "‘Immigrant’ List Sets Off Fears"

n addition, according to new polling conducted by LatinoMetrics for the Hispanic Federation and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), immigration has surged as Latinos’ top issue and is now their leading concern, along with the economy. Both native-born and foreign-born Latino citizens strongly favor a comprehensive fix to the immigration system, including a pathway to earned citizenship for the nation's undocumented.

Finally, in a move that proves that nothing sells in a Republican primary these days like red meat on immigration, nine state Attorneys General – all Republicans – signed onto an amicus brief supporting Arizona’s "papers please" immigration law. The brief was organized by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial primary in a crowded field of five.

On this point, America's Voice founder and Executive Director Frank Sharry argues:

The Republican embrace of Arizona’s immigration law, the escalating tactics of anti-immigrant groups, and the failure of Washington to enact comprehensive immigration reform has fed a climate that is getting increasingly ugly and dangerous. Until responsible leaders grab the wheel and steer this debate towards a workable solution, irresponsible actors will continue recklessly drive the nation into a ditch.