WASHINGTON (AP) — A voluntary program to run all criminal suspects\' fingerprints through an immigration database was only voluntary until cities refused to participate, thousands of recently released documents show. The Obama administration then tightened the rules so that cities had no choice but to have the fingerprints checked.

When David Kirkham answers the phone at his Provo, Utah, custom-made-auto company, the caller is sometimes a six-term U.S. senator who has more than specialty cars on his mind. Kirkham, founder of a 10,000-member Utah Tea Party chapter, has been hearing a lot during the last 18 months from Orrin Hatch, who faces voters in 2012 and has been drawing fire from some fellow Republicans over his past work with Democrats. Hatch asks Kirkham what he thinks about the tax code, lawmakers “earmarking” home-state projects, and the senator’s push for a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The first immigration bill of the legislative session to tackle employer sanctions on hiring undocumented workers passed out of committee 9-4 Monday, despite concerns by the bill’s author that it was stripped of a key provision. Rep. Chris Herrod’s HB253 was touted by the Provo Republican as a companion piece of legislation to the enforcement-only immigration bill sponsored by Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem. Herrod’s proposal would target employers that hired undocumented workers, suspending their business licenses for three days on a first offense and for a year on a second violation.

Two state lawmakers running immigration reform bills were e-mailed perceived death threats over the weekend and Utah Highway Patrol authorities confirmed Monday they are investigating the matter and taking it “very seriously.” Reps. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, and Chris Herrod, R-Provo, were the only two state lawmakers to receive the one-and-a-half page letter, confirmed top state law enforcement officials, who said they were too early in the investigation to determine the severity of the threat.

In Obama\'s State of the Union address last month, he took on the issue of illegal immigration, saying Congress should work together on coming up with laws to enforce and protect U.S. borders and to address the undocumented workers. But he also voiced his support of the DREAM Act, which was shot down in December but was set to allow illegal immigrant students who have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives to be eligible for citizenship if they completed a college degree or two years of military service. According to The Hill, Democrats plan on reintroducing the bill this session.

SALT LAKE CITY — Illegal immigration continues to be a hot topic in Utah on several fronts. Various bills are slowly but surely winding their way through the 2011 Legislature and, according to one activist, are putting the Latino community on edge. Also, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, trotted out his federal proposal again Monday. Meantime, a Latino activist delivered a letter to Salt Lake City\'s Mexican Consulate urging Mexico\'s president to suspend the visas of Mormon missionaries until the LDS Church takes a stronger position on immigration.

SALT LAKE CITY — Illegal immigration continues to be a hot topic in Utah on several fronts. Various bills are slowly but surely winding their way through the 2011 Legislature and, according to one activist, are putting the Latino community on edge. Also, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, trotted out his federal proposal again Monday. Meantime, a Latino activist delivered a letter to Salt Lake City\'s Mexican Consulate urging Mexico\'s president to suspend the visas of Mormon missionaries until the LDS Church takes a stronger position on immigration.

One of the toughest issues that we face in this year\'s legislative session deals with immigration. The issue is being looked at from many perspectives, but first and foremost from the enforcement perspective. Last year, the Arizona Legislature passed an enforcement-based law that has been studied by many in Utah. Most lawmakers will agree that there needs to be an enforcement aspect to immigration reform, but in my opinion we can\'t stop there.

Utah U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch will reportedly propose a bill aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration in the state, just one week after the Utah Republican said he did not expect congress to address the issue.

WASHINGTON — Utah\'s senior senator is proposing to rein in the illegal immigration problem with legislation that proposes an array of stringent regulations governing health care, law enforcement and other state services. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, reintroduced Monday the \"Strengthening Our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America\'s Security Act,\" which proposes to shore up the country\'s borders and at the same time facilitate the exit of foreign visitors who Hatch says have worn out their welcome.

\"There is not a monolithic vote within the Hispanic community,\" said Tom Tancredo, a former Colorado congressman and a leader of the anti-immigrant right. He was speaking before a crowd at this week\'s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the annual gathering of the political right that draws over 10,000. \"They do not vote the way African Americans do.\"

Senator Orrin Hatch came to The Heritage Foundation on Friday to present his forthcoming immigration bill—“The Strengthening our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America’s Security Act.” His remarks, and the content of his bill, are a step in the right direction on immigration and border security—given that President Obama used his State of the Union address to make another case for amnesty

SALT LAKE CITY — The immigration controversy has reached the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with one Latino member of the Utah community\'s request that Mexico suspend all LDS missionary visas to the nation. Raul Lopez-Vargas, former vice president of Centro Civico Mexicano, one of Utah\'s oldest Latino community centers, has sent a letter to Mexican Presdient Felipe Calderon seeking the temporary suspension of visas for LDS missionaries. He also delivered the letter in person Monday to the Mexican consulate in Utah.

A Latino activist delivered a signed letter to the Mexican Consulate on Monday that asks Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s government to suspend visas to Mormon missionaries doing work in that country. The delivery took but just a few minutes. Raul Lopez-Vargas, a former vice president of the community group Centro Civico, walked alone into the busy lobby and handed a consulate official the letter and several other documents for delivery.

Denver, 7 ene (EFE).- Los gobiernos locales de Utah gastarían hasta 11,3 millones de dólares adicionales al año para implementar un proyecto de ley que exige la verificación de los documentos migratorios de todos los detenidos, según un estudio del Legislativo estatal. El informe difundido hoy revela que la implementación del proyecto de ley HB-70, del representante estatal Stephen Sandstrom, implicaría gastos de 713.000 dólares para la gobernación, en concepto de verificación de la situación migratoria de los arrestados y de entrenamiento para el personal de seguridad.

SALT LAKE CITY — A small group of Latino Utah residents wants the president of Mexico to suspend the visas of Mormon missionaries until the LDS Church takes a stronger stand on the immigration issue. Raúl López-Vargas says he has collected about 100 signatures on a petition that he plans to deliver to the Mexican Consulate of Salt Lake City on Monday. He is calling for Mexican President Felipe Calderón to sit down with the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ask them to take a concrete position on immigration.