From Deseret News archives:
Panel hears human side of immigration
"It was devastating to our community, it took over 100 of our families," Sandoval said, speaking Thursday to members of the Immigration Interim Committee.
He discussed the arrest of 145 workers at the Hyrum Swift & Co. plant as part of a multi-state raid that netted more than 1,200 arrests at sites in six states.
"One child was saying where is my mom and dad," Sandoval said. "That is the reality we have to face."
The meeting was the second of the committee tasked with evaluating SB81, a measure aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from getting jobs or public benefits, which is set to take effect in July 2009.
The first meeting focused on law enforcement. On Thursday, the panel heard about the economic and human sides of the issue. People on all sides expressed frustration at what was repeatedly portrayed as a broken federal immigration system.
While E-Verify catches mismatched names and Social Security numbers, it doesn't catch those who steal entire identities, he said. The employees arrested at Swift had real government-issued IDs they had obtained using stolen identities.
"Employers are in a bind," Hamilton said. "If they are presented a government issued ID card, it is a discriminatory act to refuse to accept that."
To that end, Hamilton suggested federal legislation to allow the Social Security Administration and Homeland Security to work together to catch identity theft. Short of that, he suggested, the most effective step Utah could take to prevent identity theft would be to enact "rigorous standards" on issuing ID cards.
A requirement that companies that contract with Utah use E-Verify is one of the provisions of SB81. And lawmakers had questions that were left unanswered about the potential economic impact and the accuracy of E-Verify.
Recent comments
Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in...
AH | June 20, 2008 at 4:38 p.m.
The punishment should fit the crime as you're explaining, but you...
Re: A little restraint | June 20, 2008 at 4:36 p.m.
again...the sob stories about illegals who want what we have but...
Here We Go | June 20, 2008 at 2:17 p.m.
- Who knew Hasan's radical contacts 8:13 a.m.
- Bomb kills 9 officers in Pakistan 8:13 a.m.
- Lights back in Brazil after outage 8:11 a.m.
- Missing US soldier's body found 8:10 a.m.
- Grouchy public sticking with Obama 8:09 a.m.
- Woods faces tricky Aussie Masters 8:08 a.m.
- Oil up to near $80 on weak dollar 8:06 a.m.
- Stocks open higher as dollar slides 8:04 a.m.
- Swift wins 2nd straight BMI award 8:04 a.m.
- Tigers vs. Miners by the numbers 2:32 a.m.
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Utes get extra motivation
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Wyoming writer amazed by BYU
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- 4 Jazz players make All-Star ballot
- House passes health care bill
266 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
153 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants nationwide will honor...
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
Watch out Checketts will run the bus over you when your not looking ask...
This is nothing but visual pollution. Mark my words, in 5 years, these will...
What about freedom? Can you feel it? Touch it? Possess it? Yet there is...
and yet, their ratings are very good EVERYWHERE, not just Utah...hmmm...and...
How ignorant you are about soccer. Like anyother sport there is contact,...
I was unfamiliar with Tori's story until this article. This story touched me...
In all the games (and there have been many) Makenzie has always played her...
To "Public Affairs Image": I see governments around the world do violence to...
the winner of this will win the state Title and this should be the state...
The one benefit not mentioned in the article about wind is that it is PRICE...


