Representative Lee outlines bills to limit taxpayer benefits and driver's privileges for unauthorized immigrants

Representative Trevor Lee told a Davis County Conservatives forum he is sponsoring and supporting several bills aimed at curbing state benefits and incentives he described as encouraging unauthorized immigration.

Lee said he will present HB88, which he described as prohibiting "taxpayer money" from going to undocumented immigrants. "I'm getting a lot of support from the White House on this, and it's to ban any of your money, your taxpayer money that goes to an illegal immigrant in the state of Utah," he said. Lee framed the bill as putting citizens "first" and said it would not affect people who are in the country legally.

He also described enforcement measures tied to driving: one proposal he cited (identified in discussion as HB135 or HB136) would permit vehicle impoundment for suspects driving without a license, with officer discretion for limited exceptions; and HB287 would eliminate driver's privilege cards for noncitizens, he said, and require English-only testing for certain credentials.

Lee urged attendees to support the bills by contacting committee members and, when appropriate, attending committee hearings. He also described broader fiscal and social aims — including his view that limiting benefits would reduce pressure on housing and emergency-room usage — and cited a FAIR estimate he said placed the annual education cost for noncitizens in Utah at about $753,000,000 (a figure he attributed to a third-party estimate).

These remarks represent the positions and policy descriptions given at the forum. The text of the bills, committee calendars and any fiscal notes should be consulted for authoritative details and legal effect.