Raid puts immigration back on front burner

Local activists on both sides of the illegal immigration debate see the federal raid on a Cache Valley meat packing as evidence of a need for the federal government to reform the nation's immigration laws.

Proposed solutions vary according to the position taken by opposing groups.

Immigrant rights activist Tony Yapias said the broken families left behind after the recent Swift & Co. raid indicate a need to come up with humane comprehensive reform, to give the undocumented a chance at legal status.

Alex Segura, director of the anti-illegal immigration group Utah Minuteman Project, said what federal authorities described as the largest employment enforcement action to date proves there is a need to step up enforcement and pass laws that crack down on those who employ undocumented workers.

When Democrats take charge of the Congress some pundits believe that, unlike the Republicans, the Democrats will be able to reach a consensus on immigration reform. That reform, they say, would likely be comprehensive, creating a guest worker program as well as addressing enforcement issues.

Others predict a resolution may be as elusive for Democrats as it has been for Republicans who raised the debate but found little agreement on what to do about the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants.

Last year, the House passed an enforcement measure that was backed by all three of Utah's representatives. And earlier this year, the Senate passed a comprehensive bill. But nothing happened to resolve the two, and in the end the only measure that became law was a provision for added border security.

So, the question remains, will 2007 be the year for federal immigration reform?

Utah's Republican Rep. Chris Cannon believes so.

"We're actually going to get things done this year," said Cannon, who has twice faced primary challenges because of his vocal support for President Bush's call for comprehensive immigration reform and his own proposed agricultural worker visa program. Cannon says he's now working with key Democrats and expects to be on the House's immigration committee.

Cannon says it was their call for strict enforcement-only measures that led to the defeat of some fellow Republicans such as J.D. Hayworth of Arizona, who lost to Democrat Harry Mitchell.

"There's a pretty widespread rejection by Americans of people who are extreme on immigration," Cannon said. "You'll have a Democratic bill. I don't think it will be as good as a Republican bill would have been ... The American people want reform, they want thoughtful reform."