Utah Files Lawsuit To Reclaim State Control Over Public Lands Locked Up By Federal Government
State officials announced their request for the Supreme Court to review the federal government's authority to hold unappropriated lands.
Denver, Colorado, a self-proclaimed "sanctuary city," has been sending illegal immigrants to Salt Lake City, Utah, according to a recent KUTV report.
Jon Ewing, with Denver Human Services, told the news outlet that illegal aliens arriving in the Colorado city are being bused and, in some cases, flown to other states across the nation.
'Fix this untenable situation.'
According to Ewing, individuals are not encouraged to relocate to any particular city or state but are provided with transportation services to continue to their destination of choice.
"Any individual who travels through our system makes their own decision on their destination," Ewing told KUTV. "We are simply helping people connect with family, friends, or existing support systems."
Ewing reported that Denver has provided roughly 2,000 bus tickets since late 2022 to send illegal aliens to Salt Lake City. He insisted that critics' claims that the city was moving a "problem" to Utah is "a misunderstanding of the situation and of people's needs." Ewing further noted that Denver is in "regular communication" with the cities where the illegal aliens are being relocated. He added that Denver plans to continue sending the individuals elsewhere.
"Again, it's at their request. We will never encourage anyone to go to Salt Lake City. We will never point a finger at a map and tell someone where they should go," Ewing claimed.
A spokesperson for Denver's mayor's office told KDVR, "The vast majority of newcomers arriving in Denver do so on buses chartered from Texas and had no intention of ever coming to Denver. That's why part of our operations include purchasing tickets for newcomers to get to their desired location, where they may have support networks or job opportunities."
Salt Lake Police Chief Mike Brown stated that the illegal immigrants arrive "with very little information other than instructions to find a person in uniform to help."
Andrew Roberts, chief of staff for Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, told KUTV that the city lacks the resources to "absorb" the uptick in illegal aliens arriving in the area.
"I have, myself, communicated our displeasure," Roberts said, referring to Denver sending illegal aliens to Salt Lake City.
A spokesman for the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office also noted that the office has expressed concerns regarding Denver's actions.
Utah officials recently approved a flyer that states in Spanish that the city has "no space available in shelters," KUTV reported.
"Food banks and other basic needs services are at capacity. If you do not have a secure and stable connection or family in Utah, consider another state to settle in the US," the flyer read, according to the news outlet.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's (R) office stated, "Now, with this bulletin, we're communicating directly with those illegally crossing the border."
In a Friday statement on X, Cox wrote, "We recently learned that the Democrat mayor of Denver has been sending illegal immigrants to Utah without proper notification or approval. This is completely unacceptable and follows on the failed catch-and-release policy of the Biden administration. Every state has received illegal immigrants and Utah's resources are completely depleted. All 50 states, including Utah, are now border states due to the failed immigration policies of President Biden and Congress. Once again we call on the Biden administration and Congress to solve this crisis."
Jennifer Naipier-Pearce, senior advisor of communications for the governor's office, told KDVR, "Since learning of Denver's policy, we've worked with Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City to push back on the Department of Homeland Security, the city of Denver, the state of Colorado and the Biden administration demanding they immediately stop this practice. We've also worked with Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County to communicate to migrants, NGOs along the southern border, and other cities including Denver that we are unable to provide services to these illegal immigrants. Denver must end this practice and Congress and the president must do their job and fix this untenable situation."
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Utah's Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a pro-life bill into law Wednesday barring abortion clinics from acquiring new licenses and banning abortions after 18 weeks in clinics altogether as of 2024.
In response, Planned Parenthood in Utah has intimated it might find a way around the bill, thereby circumnavigating the democratic will of the people of Utah.
Additionally, the bill prohibits licensing of abortion clinics after May 2, 2023; bans abortions at health clinics starting Jan. 1, 2024; provides that inducing or performing an abortion contrary to statutory requirements is unprofessional conduct for health care providers; prohibits the abortion of children conceived as a result of rape or incest after they have reached 18 weeks' gestational age; and "requires a physician, in the case of a diagnosis of a lethal fetal anomaly, to give notice of the availability of perinatal hospice and perinatal palliative care services as an alternative to abortion."
State Rep. Karianne Lisonbee's "Abortion Changes" bill passed in the Senate on March 2, the second to last day in the 2023 legislative session, reported the Salt Lake Tribune. It was approved by the House the next day.
Democrats tried to kill the legislation and soften its language in various ways, but KSL.com indicated that all such efforts were in vain, as the Republican-controlled Senate voted down Democrats' proposals.
The Senate Democratic caucus stated, "HB467 is effectively a ban on all abortions in the state of Utah and further restricts access to abortion by delicensing abortion clinics and forcing patients to seek care in hospital settings only."
"We in Utah have a long-standing tradition — since before statehood — of protecting the unborn by outlawing abortion," Lisbonbee said in February. "We have compassionate exemptions, and we have compassionate law and services for women who find themselves in a situation, and we as a state ought to support them in making the decision that they need to make. That's what this bill does, in a compassionate and thoughtful way."
Lisonbee underscored that her bill "strikes the very best balance of protecting innocent life and protecting women who experience rare and dangerous circumstances."
"I think we've got a great balance here that will really try and protect the innocent and protect the health of the mother," said Sen. Daniel McCay (R).
When asked by the Tribune earlier this month whether he had any reservations about the legislation, Gov. Cox said, "It doesn’t matter. I’ll be signing the bill."
On Wednesday, he did precisely that.
Cox characterized the bill as a "cleanup" of the state's previous trigger ban on abortion, providing those accustomed to killing unborn children with "clarity" about where the practice now stands in the state of Utah.
Karrie Galloway, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said in a statement that "Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU) is exploring all options to preserve access to abortion in Utah ahead of HB 467′s effective date on May 3."
Planned Parenthood, which runs three out of the four abortion clinics in Utah, notes on its website that the clinic "doors remain open."
The Tribune noted that when the law goes into effect, parents seeking to exterminate their unborn will have to travel six hours to Las Vegas or Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
KSL.com reported that plans for a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in West Wendover, a Nevada city bordering Utah, fell through after city officials declined to grant it a permit. Nevada, where abortion is legal up to nearly six months, requires that only licensed physicians can take a baby's life.
Brittney Nystrom, the executive director of the ACLU of Utah, suggested that her organization will similarly be looking to poke holes in the legislation.
"It’s no secret that the ACLU of Utah and others in the room today are always looking out for possible constitutional violations that are embedded in the laws that come out of this body," she told reporters. "So we will be taking a close look at laws that restrict rights and freedoms of individuals and in making decisions on whether to continue those challenges in court."
Planned Parenthood and the Wasatch Women's Center together reportedly claimed the lives of 3,037 babies in 2019 alone.
The Utah Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records and Statistics reported in December that the "number of reported abortions is on a downward trend in Utah even though Utah's population continues to grow. In 1990, the number of abortions performed in Utah was 4,796. In 2020, the number was 2,362. Abortions for residents of Utah went from 4,159 in 1990 to 2,244 in 2020."
A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted in January showed that 46% of Utahns say abortion should only be legal in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the health of the mother. Only 18% of respondents suggested that abortion should be legal in all cases.
Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, said of the poll results, "We’re definitely a pro-life state. ... The majority of the people don’t support abortion. They support the exceptions but they don’t support abortion itself."
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Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has suggested that the U.S. should undergo a "national divorce," but Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who is also a Republican, has decried Green's suggestion as "evil."
"We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done," Greene tweeted.
Cox denounced the congresswoman's words and continued on with the metaphor by suggesting that the country needs "marriage counseling."
"This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and—honestly—evil. We don't need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don't profit by tearing us apart. We can disagree without hate. Healthy conflict was critical to our nation's founding and survival," Cox wrote.
\u201cThis rhetoric is destructive and wrong and\u2014honestly\u2014evil. We don\u2019t need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don\u2019t profit by tearing us apart. We can disagree without hate. Healthy conflict was critical to our nation\u2019s founding and survival.\u201d— Spencer Cox (@Spencer Cox) 1676911740
Greene also advocated the notion of a "national divorce" in tweets on her @RepMTG Twitter account.
"People are absolutely fed up and disgusted with left wing insanity and disaster America Last policies. National divorce is not civil war, but Biden and the neocons are leading us into WW3, while forcing corporate ESG and gender confusion on our kids. Enough!" Greene tweeted.
\u201cPeople are absolutely fed up and disgusted with left wing insanity and disaster America Last policies.\n\nNational divorce is not civil war, but Biden and the neocons are leading us into WW3, while forcing corporate ESG and gender confusion on our kids.\n\nEnough!\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1676914455
In another post, she retweeted a tweet from the @POTUS Twitter account that featured photos of President Joe Biden with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Impeach Biden or give us a national divorce. We don't pay taxes to fund foreign country’s wars who aren't even NATO ally's. We aren't sending our sons & daughters to dies for foreign borders & foreign 'democracy.' America is BROKE. Criminals & Cartels reign. And you’re a fool," Greene declared.
\u201cImpeach Biden or give us a national divorce.\n\nWe don\u2019t pay taxes to fund foreign country\u2019s wars who aren\u2019t even NATO ally\u2019s.\n\nWe aren\u2019t sending our sons & daughters to dies for foreign borders & foreign \u201cdemocracy.\u201d\n\nAmerica is BROKE.\nCriminals & Cartels reign.\nAnd you\u2019re a fool.\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1676915155
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