An unknown group in the state of Utah that calls itself "Concerned Citizens of the United States" has developed and distributed to various government agencies and to the media a "wacthlist" with 1300 names, apparently of Latino illegal immigrants living in that state.
The list contains the full names of 1,300 people, dates of birth, residence addresses, social security numbers, number of children and date of delivery of pregnant women on the list.
The reactions from immigrant’s rights groups were swift. According to univision.com, Tony Yapias, director of “Proyecto Latino “in Utah told local media that the list "surpasses anything we have ever seen in this state. How far do they want to go? This is hate. The goal now is to terrorize. "
Yapias said that "many residents of Utah are very frightened" about the possibility that their names are listed and local authorities may decide to question them.
The activist said he would work with other pro-immigrant organizations to protect the privacy of those named in the list.
On the other hand, the state Governor Gary Herbert, said that there will be an investigation to determine if the group obtained state information illegally.
Joanna Brooks, writer for the Religion Dispatches Magazine, believes that most members of the "Concerned Citizens of the United States" group could be Mormons, since Utah is led by conservative politicians and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Brooks believes that the growth of undocumented immigrants in the western United States has grown significantly, but also says that the highest growth of the church has been in Spanish-speaking populations, with approximately 4.5 million Spanish -speaking Mormons in the world.
The list was originally sent to the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)agency in the month of April, but apparently did not get the response desired by the group, which cause it to send multiple copies to the police, legislators and to the media .
In a statement, Virginia Kice, regional spokeswoman for (ICE), said that a copy of the list came to her office, but added that the agency receives "information from the public (on suspected illegal immigrants) with regularity."