Hard right repub sponsors bill to cut off undocumnted Utahns from all services

https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/01/15/utah-lawmaker-wants-to-cut-off-resources-for-undocumented-immigrants-to-get-them-to-self-deport/

One of Utah’s most hard-right Republicans, Rep. Trevor Lee is sponsoring those bills. The first to be filed — HB88 — would stop unauthorized immigrants in Utah from being able to access a wide range of publicly funded assistance programs. 

“That could be housing, that could be any type of health care, it could be homeless assistance, food stamps, I mean, you name it,” Lee, R-Layton, told Utah News Dispatch in an interview this week. 

If Lee’s bill is approved, it would likely restrict undocumented people from accessing the state’s Women, Infants and Children Program (known as WIC), which provides nutrition services and healthy food for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, and to infants and children up to 5 years old. It could also restrict free vaccines, communicable disease treatments and a variety of other assistance programs that don’t currently require proof of U.S. citizenship for people seeking help. 

Lee’s bill is modeled after one passed by the Idaho Legislature last year. The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho sued, alleging it unlawfully disqualifies otherwise eligible low-income immigrants from life-saving HIV treatment based solely on their immigration status. In July, a federal judge blocked the state of Idaho from requiring immigration status verification for federally-funded health services.