From facilitating deportations by changing the state’s criminal code, to ramping up efforts to stop fentanyl trafficking, lawmakers are looking to make several changes this year in the name of stopping crime and undocumented immigration.

“While we are confident the incoming Trump administration will take the southern border much more seriously, we also know what we need to act as state leaders to address the harm caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to act,” said House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, during a press conference Monday.

The press conference came after new efforts from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to help President-elect Donald Trump achieve his immigration goals, which include mass deportations and possible changes to immigration law. In November, Cox announced a plan to “identify, incarcerate and deport” undocumented migrants in Utah who have committed crimes — working with the legislature is a priority, Cox said.

But the top Democrat in the House, Salt Lake City Rep. Angela Romero, warned that Utah GOP leaders’ insistence on linking crime and immigration pushes harmful stereotypes.

Sometimes public safety and immigration policies overlap. But immigrants in her district are facing increased hostility, she said, and including all immigration bills under the umbrella of public safety fuels that rhetoric.

“I was a little confused,” Romero said. “There were some people talking about crime, then there were some people talking about immigration. I think the two don’t go hand in hand. There are some things that cross over, but there are things mentioned here that have nothing to do with people that are immigrating to Utah.”

Not all of the bills that lawmakers talked about on Monday are public, but here’s what we know so far:

• Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, wants to increase the criminal penalty for class A misdemeanors by one day, which will expedite deportations for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement cannot deport someone who has been incarcerated for less than one year — Pierucci’s bill would increase the maximum penalty from 364 days, to 365 days, overturning a 2019 law that was intentionally designed to protect undocumented people from being deported for misdemeanors.
• Pierucci is also proposing a bill that would allow schools that are seeing an increase in English Language Learners to access emergency funds, so the school can hire additional teachers.
• And Pierucci said she wants to increase criminal penalties for human trafficking.
• Rep. Matthew Gwynn, R-Farr West, has a bill that would make fentanyl trafficking its own criminal offense. “It’s now the No. 1 cause of drug overdose deaths in the state of Utah,” Gwynn said. His bill, HB87, would make fentanyl trafficking a first-degree felony. Current drug trafficking penalties range from a class A misdemeanor to a first-degree felony, depending on the substance.
• Gwynn also wants to work with the Utah Department of Public Safety to increase the number of drug interdiction units in the state.
• Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, is proposing enhanced penalties for gang-related crimes, including retail theft and gang recruitment. His bill, HB38, creates new, harsher penalties for adults who force minors to join gangs and commit crimes, while increasing the metric used when determining loss in retail theft.
• Rep. Colin Jack, R-St. George, wants to enhance penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit a felony offense if they’ve already unlawfully reentered the country after being deported.
• Amid what lawmakers say is an increasing problem, Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, wants unlicensed drivers to pay a higher fee and face a harsher penalty if their car is impounded.
• Rep. Neil Walter, R-St. George, wants to increase the number of employers that are required to use E-verify, a system that allows companies to confirm the eligibility of their employees. Utah law currently requires employers with 150 more employees to use E-verify, after bringing that number up from 15 employees three years ago
• House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, is proposing increasing the detention capacity to “facilitate deportations of illegal immigrants” who commit crimes in Utah, according to a press release. It wasn’t clear where capacity would be increased, as the bill is not yet public.

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.