The Wasatch Front is experiencing an influx of Latin American immigrants fleeing perilous economic conditions and government repression, but few resources, a lack of connections and a restrictive new state law are making it difficult for newcomers to get on their feet.
It also is hard to find answers online. Those who seek resources from local government websites are more likely to find dead links than help.
While it’s impossible to know exactly how many new immigrants have arrived in Utah recently, service providers and advocates say the swelling need is on their doorsteps.
And unlike places such as Colorado and New York City, neither Utah nor Salt Lake County has a system dedicated to helping asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants who resettle here, leaving many to turn to an overstretched homeless services system that has recently been forced by the Legislature to put up additional barriers to those who come from outside the United States.
This year, Utah lawmakers voted to require family shelters to prioritize offering services to U.S. citizens. Salt Lake County, where the crisis is most acute, has only one family shelter, in Midvale.
“In order to access the funding available to us, we are working to ensure approximately 85% of the families meet the criteria for … eligibility,” said Michelle Flynn, executive director of The Road Home, the nonprofit that operates the Midvale family shelter. “As we are able to help families into stable housing, we will have some room for families that do not meet this eligibility and will work closely with partners who are supporting migrant, asylee and new American families to ensure a streamlined collaboration.”
HB421 — one of two major homelessness bills this year — created a court diversion program for those with mental illness, raised the temperature needed to trigger the opening of additional emergency shelter beds, and clarified how state funds can be distributed to help cities that host shelters. It also contained the new requirements of family shelters, including a rule that 85% of families they serve must be eligible to receive federal poverty assistance. That means almost all families have to be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or documented refugees.
The effect of HB421 has put additional strain on service providers as they try to get in line with the new law just as more people needing help arrive. That has created a wait list for stays at the Midvale shelter.
“In our family program, we have seen an increase in households who are here with an asylee designation,” said Flynn. “Our team at The Road Home provided hotel room support to extend capacity to many of these families for as long as possible. We will continue to support all families with the limited space and funding restrictions we have available.”
The dearth of services available in Utah has made adjusting to life here hard for newcomers.
“It’s been super difficult for our new immigrant communities,” said Mayra Cedano, executive director of community organizing group Comunidades Unidas, “especially because there is not a system in place.”
Local and state governments, she said, can and should be “doing a lot more.”
Cox rebuffs Denver mayor
Gov. Spencer Cox, who is seeking reelection, took a more aggressive tone on immigration as he hurtled toward Tuesday’s Republican primary against state Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding. Cox was victorious in the GOP contest.
In a June 14 post on X, the governor lambasted Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, for “sending illegal immigrants to Utah without proper notification or approval,” and criticized Congress and the Biden administration for failing to act on immigration.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order this month limiting asylum approvals after congressional Republicans walked away from bipartisan border legislation. A Denver spokesperson told KUTV the city only pays for travel to another destination if an immigrant chooses to leave.
“Every state has received illegal immigrants,” Cox wrote, “and Utah’s resources are completely depleted.”
The few resources the Beehive State does offer are narrowly tailored to refugees, who apply to move before arriving in the United States. They differ from asylum seekers — who pursue permanent legal status after arriving in the country — and undocumented immigrants.
The state operates a Refugee Services Office tasked with supporting “individuals who have arrived in Utah via official federal processes,” or refugees that have already been vetted by the federal government. It is funded to serve only that small population.
Similarly, the Salt Lake County mayor’s Office of New Americans has a handful of programs geared toward refugees, including one initiative to help entrepreneurs open new restaurants and another that assists elderly refugees with aging.
Nowhere to turn for help
There is much less help, however, available for asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants in the Beehive State.
Some other cities and states do dedicate resources to newcomers, like New York City’s network of emergency shelters for migrants and Colorado’s free English language and legal assistance programs.
But representatives for Utah’s Refugee Services Office and the Division of Multicultural Affairs said neither office served undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. The representatives directed questions to the Utah Center for Immigration and Integration, a part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.
Center Director Natalie El-Deiry said the program targets those who are authorized to work in the country.
“If people are here lawfully and want to contribute to our communities and economy,” she said, “the center is here to help facilitate those pathways.”
The work authorization process itself represents a massive barrier to recent immigrants seeking a job and help getting on their feet.
Newcomers searching online for information at the local level also run into dead ends.
On Salt Lake County’s website, a link labeled “for immigrants” takes those needing assistance to a blank page that only says “coming soon.”
The website for Salt Lake City’s Office of Equity and Inclusion has a section titled “New Americans” that features one working link, sending visitors to outside nonprofits like the International Rescue Committee and the English Skills Learning Center.
Buttons to reach additional webpages like “city resources,” “legal assistance” and a list of frequently asked questions lead nowhere.
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