Scammers targeting Utah’s immigrants

Community and religious groups are reporting an increase in scams targeting undocumented immigrants in the wake of Utah’s immigration reforms.

Rose Maizner, director of development at the Enriching Utah Coalition, said her group has received so many calls from people saying they have been approached by unscrupulous vendors selling phony guest-worker permits that her nonprofit is using its crisis line.

Read More: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51518381-76/fake-fraud-guest-lake.html.csp 

Utah on immigration: We aren't Arizona

Less than a year ago, Utah business leaders worried that their state would follow in Arizona’s controversial footsteps by passing tough new laws to crack down on illegal immigration. Already, there were signs that a divisive debate — the kind that led to mass protests, boycotts and lawsuits in Phoenix — was shaping up in Utah, too.  

Read More: http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=561880

Sen. Mike Lee: Guest-worker law is ‘not going to happen’

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee said Tuesday there is no chance that a guest-worker program passed by the Utah Legislature will be allowed to take effect.

“It’s just not going to happen,” Lee said. “It would take a massive shift in federal law for that to even be considered, and there’s no appetite to transfer that authority over to the states.”

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, also denounced the law, calling it unconstitutional and saying he would have vetoed it if he were the governor.

READ MORE: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51483424-76/address-federal-government-immigration.html.csp 

Utah: national leaders on immigration reform

It's always nice when someone else says something nice about Utah.

Under the headline, "Immigration reform, the 'Utah Way'", The Washington Post recently examined the immigration law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gary Herbert. Its author pointed out the differences between Utah's law and Arizona's and attributed Utah's decision to avoid the Arizona approach to people he called "unimpeachable conservatives."

READ MORE: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700120154/Utah-national-leaders-on-immigration-reform.html

Kansas can follow some of Utah’s example in immigration issues

A little image repair is in order for Kansas.

Last week, the state took an unfair beating. National media hovered around the errant words of one Kansas state representative who suggested illegal immigrants might be shot like feral hogs. Enough’s been said on the violent verbiage. The off-the-cuff views of one politico do not define the state or its politics.

This week could make that distinction.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/03/20/2741133/kansas-can-follow-some-of-utahs.html#ixzz1HIaafc9B

 

Ruben Navarrette Jr.: It's time to talk some sense about immigration

SAN DIEGO -- When he changed parties a few months ago, Texas state Rep. Aaron Pena made waves. Now, as he tries to take a grown-up approach to the immigration issue, the Democrat-turned-Republican is making sense.
As when Pena told me, "Part of the reason I'm doing this is to get the public to stop talking out of both sides of their mouths. We're responsible because we offer (illegal immigrants) jobs."

READ MORE: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110321/OPINION16/110318006/Ruben-Navarrette-Jr-s-time-talk-some-sense-about-immigration?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7COpinion%7Cs

The Latter Day Saints come marching in

Could America's 6 million-strong Church of the Latter Day Saints hold the key to solving the nation's immigration impasse?

It hardly seems likely given their eccentric history and controversial beliefs – including past support for polygamous marriage – that have placed them well outside the Christian mainstream. But last year, when Utah's Republican Governor Gary Herbert, anxious to find a middle ground in the state's bitter immigration debate, convened a semi-public forum of the state's business and community leaders, the situation was tailor-made for the Mormons – with their decidedly Republican membership, but relatively apolitical stances on national issues – to enter as a powerful intermediary.

READ MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/mar/21/christianity-religion