SALT LAKE CITY — "We know you are illegal," the stranger on the phone said, "and will call immigration. We know where you live."
The call came Wednesday after parents at the home were included on a list of 1,300 Hispanics who are supposedly living in Utah illegally. The list was sent Monday to law enforcement and news media by an anonymous group aiming to have the people deported.
After the call came, children at the home were so upset they began crying, said Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino and a former state director of Hispanic affairs. Their mom left work to go home and comfort them, Yapias said.
He said the threatening call is just the tip of the iceberg of problems the list has caused. He said people on it are talking of moving, are terrified of being deported and worry about being attacked. He says both legal and illegal immigrants around the state worry they are on it and may be targeted.
Meanwhile, the Utah Department of Workforce Services confirmed on Wednesday that its databases contain much of the same information that was on the list, but the department is still investigating whether it was the actual source of any or all of the list data.
"We're still looking. Some of those data are contained within our database. We're looking to see if it entirely came from our database or other sources," said department spokesman Dave Lewis.
He said his agency is trying to determine if it is a coincidence, or if it is so similar in detail and scope that a breach likely occurred.
Angie Welling, spokeswoman for Gov. Gary Herbert, said several state departments are conducting internal reviews about whether their databases had been used. "We have not given agencies a timeline for completion but know that they are actively working to determine if their division and/or staff was somehow involved," she said.
Paul Murphy, spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, said depending on what the agencies find, the attorney general's office may consider criminal charges if it finds a state employee improperly used confidential state databases.
The list that was released publicly includes birth dates, phone numbers and addresses for everyone on the list. For some of those people, it has Social Security numbers it says they are using. It includes the exact due dates for several pregnant women. The names of many children are included. Almost all names are Hispanic, ignoring other nationality groups that may include illegal immigrants.
Yapias was the one who initially called for the governor to investigate whether state databases were used, because he said he doubted such detailed information would be otherwise available.
A letter from the anonymous group that spread the list, however, said the information was compiled by people who watched Hispanics in their neighborhoods, stores, schools and churches and who gathered other data with the help of "Mexican nationals who infiltrate their social networks."
Yapias said he doubts that. He notes that the list includes names from Logan to St. George, and Moab to Wendover — not just one easy-to-watch neighborhood.
He said he has also found that almost everyone on the list has a close relative who is a U.S. citizen, such as U.S.-born children of illegal-immigrant parents.
He said if such a U.S. citizen applied for food stamp benefits, for example, the amount they would receive would depend on how many people lived in the household, including illegal immigrants. He suspects the list came from a state social service agency because it contains so many names of children.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Yapias said he had only slept an hour or two since the list was released, because his phone is constantly ringing from people who are scared, or who want to know if they are on the list.
"Of every 20 calls I get, only one has their name on the list," he said. "But everyone thinks they are on the list, so everyone is terrified." He said that extends even to U.S. citizens who have Hispanic names, who fear they are on it and may face problems.
Yapias said several say they are planning to move — including at least one who is looking at returning to Mexico.
"They're afraid," Yapias said. "The lady said she and her husband were talking and decided that with the economy, if things don't get better, they will just go back. Of course, that is exactly what groups behind this probably want."
Yapias said he has also been taking phones calls from national and international new media interested in the vigilante feel to the list and how it comes as Utah legislators are preparing to consider a law similar to one in Arizona that would require police to check the immigration status of people they stop if they have reason to believe they are here illegally.
Salt Lake City officials heard public testimony Tuesday from members of the Latino community who lauded the stance taken by Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank in opposition to an Arizona-style revamp of Utah immigration law.
Among groups that praised Burbank and opposed the Arizona-style law were the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly, Utah Coalition of La Raza and Centro Civico Mexicano.
Afterward, Mayor Ralph Becker's chief of staff, David Everitt reiterated the mayor's support of Burbank's stance that immigration enforcement duties should not be placed on the backs of local cops.
Councilman Carlton Christensen said Wednesday that Tuesday's discussion clearly expressed the council's support of Burbank, and he expressed hope that the complex issue will be addressed at the federal level.
