Huntsman Favors Guest Worker Program
None by KCPW
House Bill Not the Answer
(KCPW News) As a gateway state for immigrants, Utah has a vested interest in federal immigration reform. But Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. thinks the House bill focuses too heavily on enforcement at the expense of what to do with the more than 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country.In conjunction with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Huntsman is leading immigration reform efforts on behalf of the Western Governors Association. Border security is important, Huntsman says, but so too are integration and a guest worker program - both of which are key to comprehensive reform.
"It's easy to say, 'Send everybody home.' But where is home for those who have been here for a generation - maybe two generations - whose kids have already grown up in our communities," asks the governor.
Huntsman favors the McCain approach being floated in the US Senate. It would create a path to citizenship for illegals who pay a fine, complete a probationary period, pass a criminal background check, and learn to speak English, among other tasks. For more from Governor Huntsman on immigration reform, go to the Midday Metro page of www.kcpw.org.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW
1. Norma Lancaster said:
I listened to an NPR program on Tuesday, in which the subject was integration of immigrants. I was incensed by the insistence of a professor at the University of Utah that many people’s anger at the immigrant demonstrations was based on race prejudice. Of course race prejudice may be involved - it is always involved in human relationships. One-up-manship is always involved in human relations. I’ve noticed that a lot of people hate fat people, but think of themselves as above bigotry. No, the anger you have seen regarding the demonstrations comes from the fact that these people have ignored our immigration rules, have forced their way into our country without going through lawful channels and now demand their “rights.” If a group of people entered your home and sat down on your sofa and insisted on a full-course meal, you would call in the police.
Why aren’t you angry. You are educated people. You know that the so-called “American Way”, would not have succeeded if we had not believed strongly in The Rule of Law. The majority of Canadians would never think of coming into our country without our permission. Yet these people, who have forced their way into our homeland, insist on their rights. “We are here and have been here for five, ten, fifteen years”, is no justification for expecting to be received with open arms. My mother and father were immigrants. They came in through Ellis Island, only because they had permission to do so. Yes, people were prejudiced against them, but they learned the language and paid their taxes from the beginning. The illegal immigrants who come into our country receive the benefits of public schools and the ability to set up businesses. They do not pay taxes, but send their money to Mexico. Mexicans have been taught that we owe them. Indeed, Mexico promotes this mindset; the money received in Mexico is an important part of their annual revenue. .
This scoff-law attitude is the reason for the anger of many - if not the majority - of the American people. Why not ask what is wrong with Mexico, whose culture they follow, rather than our own. It is the lack of law and order in their homeland which make America, a mostlypeaceful, law-abiding country, seem so desirable. It is the Rule of Law which makes us different, not race, nor customs. Simply the Rule of Law, which they have ignored.
2. Michel Lombardi said:
The House must go ahead with the compromise in Senate as soon as posible