In less than a month a controversial state law will take effect that's intended to crack down on illegal immigrants living in Utah. But don't expect sheriff's deputies or police officers in Duchesne and Uintah counties to fully enforce the new law.

The counties' two sheriffs and three police chiefs have all said that the July 1 implementation of S.B. 81 has left them with more questions than answers. The wide-ranging immigration bill was passed during the 2008 legislative session, but does not take effect until this year.

The bill allows police agencies to voluntarily cross-deputize officers to enforce federal immigrations laws. It also requires county sheriffs to make “a reasonable effort to determine a jail inmate’s citizenship.”

Duchesne County Sheriff Travis Mitchell and Uintah County Sheriff Jeff Merrell said their deputies in the jail are already performing this task, although they are limited by staffing and access to information about arrestees.

“We are checking to see whether people are legal or whether people are illegal, trying to verify addresses and status, but some of it is under the federal database that we don't have access to,” Merrell said. “I think there's still some questions and some procedures that need to be worked out so that we can comply with (S.B. 81).”

As for turning patrol deputies into immigration agents, Mitchell, like Merrell, said he doesn't have the personnel for the task.

“We're not by any means going to start looking for illegal aliens because we've got plenty of other stuff that's keeping guys busy,” Mitchell said. “However, if (illegal aliens) break the law then we'll do whatever we can to deal with it.”

Both Merrell and Mitchell noted that people have been arrested in the Basin for possession of forged documents and Merrell said his deputies have even made arrests for aggravated re-entry. Those individual have been referred to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and some have been deported.

But the men said the drain on personnel that would occur if they had to send their own deputies back East for specialized immigration training is too much for their small agencies to bear.

Naples Police Chief Mark Watkins echoed the sheriffs' staffing concern, noting that the federal training program takes six to eight weeks to complete.

“I can't have officers leave for that period of time,” Watkins said. “We'll bust anybody committing any crime, whether they're an illegal alien or not. And if they're illegally here, we'll send the information to the proper authorities to see if they'll deport them. But we won't deputize our officers or anything like that.”

Roosevelt Police Chief Rick Harrison said his department will take a “wait and see” approach to cross-deputizing officers. Harrison's primary concern is forcing the sheriff's office into a program it cannot afford.

“Until (lawmakers) work out some of the kinks in it, we're just going to let it ride,” the chief said.

Vernal Police Chief Gary Jensen said his department won't cross-deputize its officers either. He said his officers make “every reasonable effort” to identify people they suspect of criminal activity and have no intent of becoming federal immigration agents.

Jensen noted the irony that state lawmakers passed S.B. 81 but the Utah Highway Patrol has no plan to have troopers take on immigration duties.

“The state opted themselves out of it because they can't afford it and yet they expect all the city and county entities to step up to the plate when they're not even convinced they're going to do it,” Jensen said.

He added that Vernal City officers will “move forward aggressively” to arrest people who break the law and will even try to ascertain their immigration status whenever possible.

“But there's some legal bounds on that as well,” the chief said. “Realistically we can't even ask if you have a green card.

“If the public thinks that by us not stepping up to this plate that we're not going to do the job, that's just not true,” Jensen added. “We're going to do the job, but we're going to try to do it our way without mandates.”

Mitchell and Merrell – who can't fully opt out of S.B. 81's requirements – said they are still studying how they can best follow the law. Mitchell said the Utah Attorney General's Office still has to hammer out an agreement the federal government on how the bill's mandates will be implemented.

“We need a little bit more training before we can give a definitive answer (about S.B. 81); however, we're going to continue to do our jobs. ... We're still responding, protecting and doing what we need to do. We're not going on a witch hunt, going door-to-door looking for illegal aliens. I don't think that's the purpose or intent.”