By Mark Disler
Comprehensive immigration reform is a “leftover” item on the national agenda. With approximately 12 million undocumented aliens living in the United States; an on-going need for temporary workers, seasonal workers, skilled technology workers, nurses and agricultural workers; the last major immigration overhauls being in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, the time is ripe for comprehensive reform in the national interest.
The likely, broad elements of comprehensive legislation have long been known: strengthened border security, an employment verification system, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented aliens who entered the country by a certain date and meet other requirements, a temporary worker program, along with provisions for skilled workers and agricultural workers.
The Congressional deadlock between a significant number of Republicans and some Democrats who favor an enforcement only approach and a significant number of Democrats and some Republicans who favor comprehensive reform have stymied virtually all progress in updating our immigration system. One of the largest disagreements is over the component which would provide undocumented aliens a pathway to legal status, which opponents describe as an unjustified “amnesty.” But other differences also need to be bridged. Some labor unions favor an approach to a temporary worker program that businesses find too restrictive. Moreover, potential progress on individual, discrete pieces of the legal immigration reform agenda has sometimes stalled because of concerns by supporters of comprehensive reform that the rest of the immigration reform agenda will get left behind.
Yet, the feeling persists across the country, even during an economic downturn, that the federal immigration system is broken and needs repair. A few Senators have been working across the aisle to break the Congressional deadlock. President Obama has been seeking to strengthen border enforcement as a backdrop to a renewed effort to enact reform legislation. In recent weeks, he has held meetings to reassure immigration reform supporters of his commitment. His May 10, 2011, trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to tout his measures to stem undocumented immigration signals his renewed effort to seek a legislative repair of the immigration system. He will need to reach out in a serious way to skeptical potential Republican Congressional allies.
Adding to the acrimony and divisiveness surrounding the immigration reform debate, some states have filled the void of federal inaction by passing legislation cracking down on the presence of undocumented aliens, most notably by Arizona whose April 2010 immigration law enforcement policy has been enjoined in part by the Federal judiciary.
On November 15, 2010, political, religious, and other leaders in Utah signed the Utah Compact, A Declaration of Five Principles to Guide Utah’s Immigration Discussion. These five principles are:
FEDERAL SOLUTIONS. Immigration is a federal policy issue between the U.S. government and other countries – not Utah and other countries. We urge Utah’s congressional delegation, and others, to lead efforts to strengthen federal laws and protect our national borders. We urge state leaders to adopt reasonable policies addressing immigrants in Utah.
LAW ENFORCEMENT. We respect the rule of law and support law enforcement’s professional judgment and discretion. Local law enforcement resources should focus on criminal activities, not on civil violations of federal code.
FAMILIES. Strong families are the foundation of successful communities. We oppose policies that unnecessarily separate families. We champion policies that support families and improve the health, education and well-being of all Utah children.
ECONOMY. Utah is best served by a free-market philosophy that maximizes individual freedom and opportunity. We acknowledge the economic role immigrants play as workers and taxpayers. Utah’s immigration policies must reaffirm our global reputation as a welcoming and business-friendly state.
A FREE SOCIETY. Immigrants are integrated into communities across Utah. We must adopt a humane approach to this reality, reflecting our unique culture, history and spirit of inclusion. The way we treat immigrants will say more about us as a free society and less about our immigrant neighbors. Utah should always be a place that welcomes people of goodwill.
These principles are broadly stated and do not, of themselves, resolve specific issues bedeviling Congress for the last several years. By reflecting humane values consistent with traditional American goodwill, however, these principles point the way to a balanced approach to comprehensive immigration reform that encompass the broad elements mentioned earlier.
If comprehensive immigration reform is to have a chance of enactment in the run-up to the 2012 Presidential election, it will be against a heightened political backdrop. Reform supporters are disappointed in President Obama’s failure to give it a higher priority earlier in this term. And Republicans must be concerned about alienating Hispanic voters, a portion of whose support is necessary for the realization of their Presidential ambitions.
It would be fitting if Utah, one of the most conservative and Republican states in the Union, led the way for national and Congressional leaders to stitch together the necessary compromises for the overdue reform of our Nation’s immigration laws.