SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's governor and attorney general have been flooded with e-mails in reaction to their stance on immigration. The messages include sharply critical comments on the creation of a list of 1,300 alleged undocumented immigrants.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff predicted comments he made about the effort to create the list would draw a strong reaction, and they have. E-mails to Gov. Gary Herbert started coming in after he spoke out against illegal immigrant list.

Angry e-mails directed at attorney general

Shurtleff says his office has received well over 100 e-mails on the immigration issue -- the vast majority of them critical. "Facebook; lots of Facebook messages, Twitter and, of course, the ones that come here to the office -- letters, phone calls," Shurtleff says.

While calling for the federal government to solve an immigration crisis that's within its domain, the attorney general also sharply criticized the creation of the list as wrong and disgusting.

An e-mailer named Brent wrote to Shurtleff, asking: "Why look at charges against someone who turns in someone who is breaking the law?"

Cameron told the attorney general: "We'll oust you like [Sen. Bob] Bennett!"

"Hey stupid," an e-mailer named Jim wrote, "it's illegal immigration!"

Others, like a man named John, urge Utah to "be courageous like Arizona."

Paul called Shurtleff "a liberal in Republican sheep clothing."

E-mails like Glenda's, that praise Shurtleff for "sanity, civility and compassion," are the exception.

"People are upset about immigration, period," Shurtleff says. "They want something done, and ‘if the feds aren't doing it, then you should be doing it Mr. Shurtleff.' On top of that, there are those specifically about ‘why are you going after people who are revealing a list of illegal conduct?'" Shurtleff says his office is strongly enforcing Utah laws broken by anyone here illegally, but he maintains that enforcing federal immigration laws isn't the state's job.

"That is a federal responsibility -- the enforcement part of immigration laws," he says.

Meanwhile, Shurtleff says the investigation over the list is going well. He doesn't think it will much longer to wrap up but says it focuses on a still unknown number of people.

"It could be two; it could be more than that," Shurtleff says. "We may not be able to show criminal intent on the two."

Utahns angry with governor for his opposition to ‘the list'

"The list" has also led to a long line of angry e-mails directed toward Gov. Herbert.

After the governor spoke out against the supposed illegal immigrant list, he began receiving e-mail, letters and phone calls. The Deseret News reports of 400 pages of e-mail to the governor, most are filled with angry messages telling him to "get a spine" and calling him "gutless."

One e-mail said: "You are supposed to represent the people who voted for you, get (a) spine!! If you think the Mexican vote will get you re-elected, you have your head in the wrong place."

A few correspondences were supportive. One person said the silent majority supports the governor.

Herbert ordered an investigation into the release of "the list." As a result, the names of two Department of Workforce Services employees were turned over to the attorney general's office for possible criminal prosecution.

Meanwhile, the ACLU of Utah is joining with 120 other civil rights organizations and individuals nationwide to urge the Department of Homeland Security categorically to reject the agency's use of "the list."

E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com