Office of Ethnic Affairs takes heat over strategy

However, Shelley Weis, executive director of the Park City Community Outreach Center, said the plan fails to address the most pressing issue — illegal immigration.

"We're always going to be trying to jury-rig stuff if we don't take care of the fundamental issues," Weis said.

The Latino community group Proyecto Latino de Utah analyzed the plan and found that it doesn't specifically address the undocumented population — the group that will be largely impacted by many of the points. Fewer than half of the plan's points target the entire ethnic population, the analysis says.

When it comes to sheer numbers, Latinos are the largest ethnic group, with a projected 2005 population of 231,854 — nearly 11 percent of the state's population. The plan's total projected 2005 minority population is 331,667, not counting Native Americans, which are covered by the separate Division of Indian Affairs.

The plan doesn't specifically address immigration because that's a federal issue, and aspects such as eligibility for federal programs can't be addressed at the state level, Robles said. The Office of Ethnic Affairs role is to represent the ethnic communities, including undocumented immigrants that fit into those categories, she said.

Robles said the Proyecto Latino analysis ignores many segments of the state's minority population.

"Are you telling me that second generation Latinos or blacks or Pacific Islanders don't have achievement gaps? Are you telling me Native Americans aren't dropping out of high school?"

Gonzalo Palza, a member of the Hispanic Advisory Council who spoke as a member of Proyecto Latino, acknowledged that all ethnic minorities face similar challenges but not in the same numbers as the Latinos or undocumented immigrants.

"It's an explosion in demographics," he said. "If you want to make society better, you have to address the Latino issue, and if you want to address the Latino issue, you have to address the undocumented issue."

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