The Utah Legislature can waste as much time as it wants debating immigration reforms. In the end, any substantive reform has to come from Congress. Thus far, the subject hasn't reached the top of its agenda.

This should not be construed as an open invitation for state legislatures to make life miserable for illegal immigrants. They are in our midst and they have legitimate health and education needs. We have a moral obligation to assist the strangers among us.

For awhile, it appeared that the Utah Legislature would give these issues a rest, particularly with respect to a law that extends in-state college tuition to Utah residents, some of whom happen to be illegal immigrants or the children of illegal immigrants.

In fact, they are very few in number. It is counter-intuitive to provide a free public education to Utah children — regardless of status — then shut the door of opportunity when they qualify for college academically.

Yet the debate has legs. An omnibus bill that may as well be titled the "Let's curb illegals once and for all Act," is lurking on Capitol Hill. HB347 seeks to repeal in-state tuition for qualified undocumented immigrants and further deny them access to any public benefits, except those mandated under federal law.

The bill advanced from a committee and is now before the Rules Committee. Legislative leaders should let it die a quiet death.

For one, the tuition issue has been debated and debated without altering the current law on state books. Surely, the Legislature, in its waning days, has more substantive issues to attend to.

Moreover, what is the point of this bill? State agencies already use a federal verification system to verify eligibility for social services programs. This is, at best, redundant.

Instead of stirring this hornet's nest, wouldn't the state's time be better spent on a comprehensive study of undocumented workers' contributions and the cost of the services of which they partake? Then, at least, the debate could be fact-based, instead of fueled by raw emotion.