When we give up on enforcing our laws because it is difficult, we become corrupt. We devalue our citizenship and strengthen our enemies. Our society functions because we have faith that we all give up certain rights or desires for an organized society. When we no longer trust that laws will be followed, we all begin to pick and choose which laws to follow and society suffers as a result.

Anyone who believes that this bill will solve the problem and not make matters worse is naive. The bill is basically the same as in 1986, which gave amnesty first and promised greater enforcement later. Fool me once shame on you; Fool me twice shame on me. It is naive to believe that we will be willing to enforce in the future that which we weren't willing to enforce in the past or present (this is why enforcement of the border and existing laws is not passed separately).

Immediately granting rights to 12 million illegal aliens will swamp an already overburdened legal system. No meaningful enforcement or weeding out will take place. It's silly to think otherwise. The trigger mechanism is just a ruse. When enough political pressure is exerted, some bureaucrat will simply declare that the necessary protections have been met and formal amnesty will proceed (although the bill actually grants instant amnesty for those not seeking citizenship).

Let's protect our borders first and then debate amnesty. Let's develop tamper-proof ID first rather than promise to "start" the development later. Let's first develop with bonding requirements. We should be able to agree on this.

This bill must be stopped. Please let your voices be heard.

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Chris Herrod, R-Provo, represents House District 62 in the Utah House of Representatives. His wife is from the Ukraine, his business partner is from Ethiopia, his sister-in-law is from South Korea and his two nieces are from China.