State Workers Fingered in Illegal Distribution of Utah Residents' Private Information

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-07-16 11:30:00 UTC
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Earlier this week, I reported that the private information, including home addresses, of 1,300 supposed undocumented immigrants in Utah was distributed to law enforcement and media outlets. Men, women, and children were all on the list, and, in what gives me as a woman extra chills, the due dates of pregnant women also appeared, with a call to deport them before they gave birth. The Salt Lake Tribune today reports that at least two employees at the Department of Workforce Services have been fingered in accessing the state database for illegal purposes.

According to Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, all signs point to a number of state and federal laws having been broken. Gov. Gary Herbert expects to see charges filed on the state and federal level, and anticipates that the prosecution will probably result in conviction. It's ironic that the "Concerned Citizens of America," as the anonymous perpetrators are calling themselves, committed illegal acts to expose people they believe have committed illegal acts. In fact, it already seems that at least some of the people listed are legally in the United States, and of those who are undocumented immigrants, many have only committed administrative violations or may be seeking an adjustment of status, such as asylum.

Distributing the private information of American residents, however, is a far more serious security violation. It's not up to the employees of Workforce Services to decide how the federal government enforces immigration law, and it's not up to them to make the decision to release a person's private information just because they think they know best, or that they can make judgments about a person's holistic immigration situation. Workforce Services, which distributes government benefits, is an important resource for low-income families, and they should not have to mistrust that government employees won't respect the sanctity of their personal information.

Photo credit: james cridland

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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