Coalition is pushing immigrant law reform

The immigration debate is a personal one for Karen Kwan, whose father was a legal immigrant from China.

"As a child, I heard people tell him to go back to China," she said. "They said that to me, and I was born in America."

That was a generation ago, but today Kwan sees a similar attitude toward immigrants — legal and illegal alike. That's why she helped to organize the bipartisan Utah Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

The goal: to encourage Utah's congressmen, especially Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Chris Cannon, to support comprehensive reform to the nation's immigration system.

The Utah coalition, formed last week, includes a range of ethnic, political and community organizations, including the Utah Organization of Chinese Americans, for which Kwan is immediate past president. It's part of the national New American Opportunity Campaign, she said.

The coalition is backing the bipartisan Secure America Orderly Immigration Act of 2005 (SB1033 and HR2330), introduced in the Senate by John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

The bill's provisions include enhanced border security and federal assistance to states for detaining criminal illegal immigrants. It would also create a new class of temporary worker visas for low-skill jobs, and would give illegal immigrants a way to adjust their status.

Kwan said she supports the act because it would both bolster border security and, by creating new pathways for legal immigration, would address workers' rights.

"I see people get treated horribly because they have no rights," Kwan said. "They want to come legally but feel they're not able to do it.

"It's just not right for people to be treated like they are second-class," said Kwan.

But according to Utah Minuteman Alex Segura, the proposed act goes too far, by giving amnesty to lawbreakers.

"We're totally are against it, 100 percent," he said. "We don't back giving a free pass to lawbreakers. If they do that, they might as well open the jails."

Segura said if illegal immigrants want temporary worker visas, they should go back to their countries and apply for them like everyone else.

Mike Sizer, chairman of Utahns For Immigration Reform and Enforcement, also opposes the bill. Sizer said a bill that "might have merit" is SB1438, which also creates a new temporary worker visa category. It also would require illegal immigrants to return to their home country in order to adjust their status.

Those who signed onto the Utah Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, meanwhile, are endorsing what they see as a realistic way to address the increasingly volatile immigration issue.