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Dealing with Illegal Immigration
Immigration promises to be one of the more emotional policy debates in the upcoming legislative session. The feds have failed their responsibility, leaving action up to the states. Here is Sunday's AP article. Senator Hickman and others are in the early stages of formulating this piece of legislation and would appreciate any thoughtful input. Utah Senator Gearing Up for Immigration Fight in '08
SALT LAKE CITY -- By BROCK VERGAKIS
Associated Press Writer
A state senator is pledging to pursue illegal immigrants with new legislation that would cut off public benefits, deny in-state college tuition rates and give police more freedom to work with federal authorities.
Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, said he also wants Utah to copy an Oklahoma law that prohibits transporting illegal immigrants.
Utah is the only state that issues a driving card to illegal immigrants, which allows them to buy insurance and travel freely throughout the state. It cannot be used to buy guns or board an airplane.
Hispanic advocates say Hickman's proposal will push illegal immigrants underground and render Utah's driving card, used by 34,000 people, useless.
"Does this mean I have to start asking my own friends their legal status in case I get pulled?" said Tony Yapias, former director of the State Office of Hispanic Affairs.
"All the sudden I'm facing charges because I failed to ask a friend his legal status. I think this is going beyond the issue of immigration. This is going straight into pure and simple racism," he said.
Utah's driving card was intended to end voter fraud among illegal immigrants who were receiving regular licenses. The law was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo.
Bramble said the cards have worked as intended and are not an incentive for illegal immigrants to flock to Utah.
"The driver license has become a de facto document showing validation in our community. Those have all been eliminated," he said.
"Utah is not giving them anything that they're not already taking. ... It provides a mechanism to give them driving records and insurance," Bramble said of the driving card. "It doesn't prohibit police from enforcing immigration laws."
A 2006 audit showed that 75 percent of people with driver cards had insurance after they were first issued in 2005. That's compared to about 85 percent of Utah drivers who had a regular driver's license.
While Hickman's bill isn't in final form, Bramble said he's seen the highlights and is generally supportive.
Children of illegal immigrants wouldn't get the in-state rate on college tuition. Police, under Hickman's plan, could work with the Department of Homeland Security in identifying illegal immigrants who have been arrested.
Bramble is one of Utah's loudest voices when it comes criticizing federal immigration policy -- a "dismal, abject failure."
Bramble said he doesn't want to repeal the driver card but would be willing if the House goes along.
Hickman said he wants to end large-scale trafficking of illegal immigrants in Utah. But he acknowledged that anyone driving a vehicle with an illegal immigrant would be in hot water, if Utah approves a policy like Oklahoma's.
Trips to the grocery store, doctor's office or school would be illegal if an illegal immigrant were present.
"It would please me mightily," said Eli Cawley, chairman of the Utah Minuteman Project, which wants a crackdown on illegal immigration. "But those kind of things rely on the enforcement and identification of illegal aliens. To date, because Utah is a sanctuary state, police never ask someone if they're an illegal alien unless they committed an infraction of the law."
Yapias, too, is frustrated with federal immigration policy but doesn't see Hickman's bill as the solution.
"I will work with him. Let's have a real debate at the national level. That's where the pressure would need to be," he said. "Enough going after these defenseless people who have nothing to do with this issue."
But for Hickman, there's little room for debate over illegal immigration.
"We are creating two distinct segments of our society: Those of us who are citizens who live here and respect the law, and those who come here illegally who have no reason to obey the law," he said.
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11 Comments:
"Trips to the grocery store, doctor's office or school would be illegal if an illegal immigrant were present.
"It would please me mightily," said Eli Cawley, chairman of the Utah Minuteman Project"
- This is enough to scare me. I hope Hickman's bill doesn't pass.
A question for Hickman:
If I'm a leader in my LDS ward driving kids to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and one of the kids in my car is from a family of illegal immigrants do you Republicans still want to throw me in jail?
Hickman will need to include funding in his bill to help school districts with lawsuits the first time a child is harmed because he or she was left alone at the bus stop due to not being allowed on the bus by a law abiding bus driver.
A misguided effort for sure.
How about instead of going after the people who are coming here to work, albeit illegally, how about we go after the guys who are giving them the jobs in the first place????? Hire an illegal immigrant...go to jail... don't get a business license... why insist on hurting the guy who just wants to make a living to feed his family??
A question for the first anonymous commentor...
If I am a leader in my church and I am driving a bunch of people to deliver food to the local food bank and one of the people in my car commits a crime in my presence (which being in this country ILLEGALLY is) are you going to throw ME in jail?
I should hope so if our laws mean anything...
LL
Lady,
When we make pointless and absurd laws we are actively creating a situation where the law is held in greater contempt. As we proceed to make our laws even more pointless and absurd as this legislation clearly does we create a situation where our laws don’t mean anything. If you don’t think that’s where we as a society should be headed then maybe you should advocate for something productive instead of yet another penalty for people who are just here trying to make better lives for themselves and their families.
You've labeled yourself "logician". Your comment doesn't provide much evidence that you really deserve that moniker.
Anonymous...what is illogical about knowing who is coming into your house? I'm curious...
A country that does not enforce it's borders is not long to be a country.
LL
lady,
You were advocating for a law that would pointlessly penalize anyone in our state who had an illegal alien in their car at any time for any reason. That is a far cry from documentation of everyone who comes into our nation. The latter policy makes sense...the other is just...illogical.
Permitting Utah law enforcement to work with the feds on immigration enforcement should be something uncontroversial. 287g, I believe it's called. I hope the law against transporting illegals is not framed in a way to draw the above mentioned objections. Let's put together a bill of relatively popular measures and get it passed.
I am happy to see that our state representatives are considering taking our state back. We are a nation of laws and I want it to stay that way. If we do not enforce our laws we will lose our country.
What about Ceiling Systems Inc out of American Fork who employs one legal, who in turn pays about 20 illegal immigrants to work construction? What about our jobs, our economy and our American people? What about the high cost of insurance and providing for our American families first? We take care of every other country, when are we going to take care of us?
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