Begun, the SB 81 Wars have

July 1 was Immigration Overhaul Day in Utah as SB 81 went into effect. Among other things, the bill requires state contractors to ensure their employees are legal and allows local law enforcement to act as federal agents when it comes to immigration violations.

It was only a matter of time before proponents or opponents of the bill started pointing at the actual effects. That time was Thursday. The Herald got a tip, as did at least one other media outlet, that the Utah County Sheriff's Department had pulled a woman over, asked her for her immigrant status and arrested her based on the fact that she is her illegally.

As per usual, there was a little truth in there, but not enough. A woman was indeed pulled over for a traffic violation and was indeed hauled into the jail because of her immigrant status. But the real reason was that when the deputies ran her information after pulling her over (standard procedure) a warrant popped up on an immigration hold.

Sheriff Jim Tracy said his deputies have been briefed on the new law, but that he doesn't have the manpower to have them go around all day making immigration busts. If something like Thursday's issue comes up, then they'll be happy to oblige.

BONUS: It turns out that there was an immigration agent at the jail when the woman was brought in. The agent recognized her and waited around for her family to show up to bail her out. See, her son also had a warrant out and when they showed up, he was arrested too.