Given the present political climate, genuine compromise over a contentious issue is rare. But the state of Utah is making a commendable attempt to reach a middle ground on the subject of illegal immigration.
Utah’s Legislature recently passed a pair of bills that would allow the state to issue temporary work permits to illegal immigrants while at the same time granting local law enforcement greater ability to determine the legal status of criminals.
Together, the bills seek to appease those who favor strict deportation policies and those who argue for some form of amnesty.
While the bills do nothing to deter illegal immigration, they are a practical approach to dealing with undocumented workers who are already in the country.
The guest worker bill is far from being outright amnesty in that the permit is only valid for two years and has a set list of requirements. The key among them is a mandatory criminal background check that would ensure that public safety is not compromised.
Of course, an illegal immigrant by definition is a criminal, but there is a clear distinction between misdemeanor offenses and felonies. Federal law classifies illegal entry into the US as a misdemeanor offense.
While offenders face the possibility of both prison time and monetary fines, the infraction itself is on par with driving without a license. Violent offenders, thieves, drug smugglers and the like would all be excluded from the program and subject to immediate arrest.
In addition, the law would require the applicant to pay a fine of up to $2,500. This is hardly a free pass and is ten times more than the fine mandated by the existing federal law.
Finally, immigrant workers would be required to learn English within one year of being issued their permit or face dismissal from the program. Taken as whole, this bill both enhances security and promotes the integration of foreigners.
The proposed law simply recognizes the reality that the economy depends on immigrant workers. As proof, the Utah Legislature has also proposed setting up a partnership with Nuevo Leon State in Mexico to bring temporary farm workers to the state. Such a program would become less necessary if the illegal immigrants already present were given temporary worker status.
As it stands now, there is an open job market that is going unfilled by US citizens.
Those in opposition of the guest worker bill argue that the criminal element would remain a problem because law enforcement officials are prevented from determining the legal status of those they arrest.
To address this concern, a second bill would grant police the authority to verify the immigration status of anyone they detain for felonies and misdemeanors. In combination with the previous bill, there would actually be increased security in the work force and in society as a whole.
There are over 11 million illegal immigrants in the US today, and a significant portion of our economy depends on the work that they alone perform.
Utah’s proposed bills recognize these contributions and at the same time, they minimize the risk of hiring truly dangerous criminals.
The work permit program should be viewed not as a reward for breaking the law, but rather as a state-side approach to evaluating and screening immigrants that would otherwise go unchecked.
A similar bill has been proposed by Republican lawmakers in Texas, and one would hope that other states follow in putting forth practical and reasonable immigration laws.
Agriculture already has a special guest worker visa called H-2A. The problem with this visa is that it does have some worker protections such as a good prevailing wage provision. What reactionary Republicans are attempting to do is bypass or weaken the H-2A worker protections. To cheer Utah Republicans is to cheer anti-labor reactionaries.
Gee, just pay a little fee and learn English and you can also live in America. Doesn't that sound fair and balanced? No it doesn't.
A $2500 fine amounts to over 2 months of wages for someone working 40 hours a week at minimum wage. If these workers are performing agricultural jobs the pay will be even lower.
And you just have to look at the history of Literacy tests in America to recognize that they are only being used to deny rights to workers after one year. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test )
This 'modest bill' helps no one but Republicans.
As a resident of the state of Utah, and as a person that advocated against HB 116 and HB 466 during the legislative session, I have to say that both bills were very poor piece of legislation and that both are actually unconstitutional.
Two Face, 2 American kids splitting $30 per yard will not sustain an American household. But an illegal immigrant engaging in subsistence living can support his entire family (that remain in Mexico) through that same job. A job such as that one is of greater utility for the Mexican than it is for an American. So why would you take a job from a Mexican that needs the money and give it to a child that is just supplementing his middle-class lifestyle?
So we will give prevalence in jobs to an illegal-non citizen over a white citizen? Okay then. I guess that's how it goes now. I'm fine with immigrants working in menial jobs such as lawn care but they need to be legal. I can't get a job if I have committed a crime so why should they?
white citizen? haha
thanks for showing your true colors
you are 'fine' with immigrants working in menial jobs? what about non-menial jobs? or are those reserved for white citizens like yourself? maybe the people in your neighborhod did not hire a 13 year old because 13 year olds do poor work compared to a professional, also maybe they did not like you because you are obviously a racist.
Taxpayer are being ripped-off by paying for those agricultural laborers when they get sick or injured, as the farmer is not obligated to pay for their children's education the families health care. This has become a financially vicious circle that will not end, with either the deep entrenched Liberal-Democrats, Republicans or any political entity other than the committed TEA PARTY. The TEA PARTY is growing much faster from the dominant Republicans, and certain politicians are discarding there old parties to join this third party. The Tea Party is secular in definition, non-partisan with open registration for all legal racial, including ethnic majorities and minorities. The Tea Parties core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Limited Government, Free Market and a Strong National Security. We have great substance in the leadership who are fighting against the old, tired "Business as Usual" political hard liners, who will keep our taxes spiraling and spending our grand children's futures.
There will be no compromise with either party who keep the dollars flowing; printing more as our US debt are extended uncontrollably. All elected officials should be on notice that if you are anti-sovereignty and pro-illegal immigrant, they will be removed from office. That will be every Governor, Mayor, Police Chief and city manager. Every form of illegal immigration must be terminated, with businesses accountable and should be heavily fined, assets taken and long prison sentences. Obama's team also needs to be held accountable, as with prior President George Bush and even Ronald Reagan's leadership. Unions are also not be held to the same policies of enforcement, even though amongst their membership illegal workers are in their midst. The 1986 travesty sent both legal and illegal immigration, in the tens of millions and beyond into our country. The ultra-leftists are demoralized and the TEA PARTY has rattled their fetid cages, because the TEA PARTY has erased their wide open border ideas. Once the illegal immigrant war is won by building the real double fence and deploying 5000 troops along the border, we can cut-out all the special preferences such as Political Correctness “Press One for English." If any minority wants to legally come here, they had better learn the national language, which is causing great hardships in our overcrowded schools.
Extremely intelligent, the highest skilled workers don’t not need public welfare and never will and therefore should get special preferences to immigrate America is a place of opportunity, but the taxpayers are being overtaxed to pay for the foreign nationals who come here to steal the American dream, using child tax credits to profit. Criminals have compromised our tax code, and are thieving millions of dollars, as if the government stays ignorant to this fact. Our prisons are full of criminal aliens, drug dealers, murders, gang members and a complex assortment of nefarious activities. No more amnesties, immigration reform dream acts or anything else. The Illegal immigration issue should be important to every legitimate American, as it affects every-bodies pay check. There should be no exceptions to every county using Secure Communities police fingerprinting and detainment of individuals being processed, along with the new version of E-Verify. The new innovations to E-Verify will make it almost impossible, for any illegal worker to slip past the verification procedure. 287 (g) is still enforce around the country, to question any wrongdoer who is driving a vehicle. These tools must be made permanent and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) can suck a lemon, as he tried to eradicate all these restriction programs. Other than California, Nevada has the highest population of foreign nationals in the country. America is a pressure valve for other corrupt governments for their unemployed and those living in abject poverty.
Attention: Using veiled threats Acorn and its ilk, threatened the banking industry with boycotts, unless they loosened laws on lending. “Ninja loans” reluctantly given to low income, illegal aliens, with no credit, no assets, which crippled the housing market, were causing the financial crash in the USA. The Leftists will not advertise this explosive revelation; read about it on Google and the consequences.
Actually, the Utah law only excludes illegal aliens who have been convicted of a serious felony from obtaining a guest worker permit. Thus, anyone committing document fraud, identity theft or who is engaged in drug or human smuggling or who is trafficking child porn will be eligible for the permit as long as they have not been convicted.
In addition, individuals who have been convicted on "non" serious felonies or who have had the charges reduced will also be allowed to get work permits.
Finally, there is no background check required for immediate family members who will also receive a permit which means that they could have been convicted of multiple serious felonies and still be granted a permit.
This is really a poorly thought out piece of legislation and according to the legislature's own attorneys, it is unconstitutional.
we are all people. nations are irrelevant in regards to who deserves what. it's convenient to believe that we should just shove them on their side of the line and not have to worry about them, but it's also immoral and very unchristian (for all the racist christians battling iillegal immigrants)
The author says "The work permit program should be viewed not as a reward for breaking the law".
Are you kidding?
We will see what the citizens of Utah really think about these bill in November 2012.