Arizona crackdown could add to Utah's illegal immigration woes

By Nate Carlisle
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/18/2008 08:32:00 AM MST

TEMPE, Ariz. - As Utah debates how to treat undocumented immigrants, Arizona is watching new laws and an economic downturn drive away those workers, likely sending many to Utah.
No one knows how many people have left Arizona since that state's latest immigration law, which penalizes employers for hiring undocumented workers, became effective Jan. 1. But with Arizona once having an undocumented immigrant population estimated at 400,000 or more, Utah stands to receive at least some of those who are now fleeing the state.
"We have received anecdotal information where people are being invited to go to Utah, specifically Ogden and some of the communities outside of Salt Lake City," said Edmundo Hidalgo, president of Chicanos Por La Causa, which promotes education and economic development in Arizona. "The primary attraction is quality of life. People view those communities as having high family values."