Anti-illegals group targets 2 senators

SOUTH JORDAN — A new grassroots group that wants to close the borders to illegal immigrant is targeting Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, both R-Utah.

Barry Hatch urged dozens of people attending a meeting at the South Jordan public library Wednesday night to flood their offices with phone calls and letters, urging them to strengthen and seal off the nation's borders.

"We are about to lose our country the way we know it," said Hatch, who is a second cousin of the U.S. senator. "Illegals are coming in. Jobs are going to be lost."

In an emotional speech, Barry Hatch, who used to live in California, said, "Immigrants are coming as conquerors. They are colonizing and spreading fast . . . I watched California become a third-world country."

Tony Yapias, director of the State Office of Hispanic Affairs, said groups are becoming more active on both sides of the emotional issue.

"It's a frustration of our immigration policy," he said. "On a local level, immigration is almost at a boiling stage."

At one point, an audience member told a Spanish television reporter he was only opposed to illegal immigrants.

During the meeting, the group also discussed plans to protest at the state Capitol and also a planned visit to Utah by Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Hatch also suggested that President Bush should be impeached for his pro-immigration reform, which would provide temporary work visas for some illegal immigrants. He said such policy would lead to no borders, with only one nation from Canada southward.

Those attending the meeting stressed this is not about racism — this is about protecting America and its culture.

Jean Lindsay, who attended the meeting, said she's concerned about immigration's impact on the school system.

"I feel like we are losing our culture," she said. "I'm concerned about they don't want to go through the legal channels . . . I'm concerned about the rule of law."

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