As the 109th Congress cranks up, give Utah Rep. Chris Cannon credit. He is rolling up his sleeves, steeling his will and striding back into the ring with all the foes of granting legal status to productive illegal immigrants.

We like the man's blue collar grit and gumption. We also like his politics.

Some people will always view the world as a battle between the forces of light and darkness. And if they are on the side of light, well, those opposed must be evil. That attitude not only makes for simplistic politics, it makes for impractical social policy.

We understand that change can be unnerving. The status quo is always safe. But the immigration debate is not between "people who coddle lawbreakers" and "people who believe in justice and the rule of law." It is not a black and white issue. Would it were so simple. The debate is really about how to handle a tricky situation that already exists.

Los Angeles County now has nearly 10 million people. Of those, about half are Hispanic, many here illegally. Some towns in Texas are listed as 99 percent Hispanic. Half-a-million people steal into the United States illegally each year from Mexico. They are here. They plan to stay. And there is not enough money in Fort Knox and not enough manpower in the National Guard to send them packing.

Some citizens look at those facts and see the bogeyman.

Some see them for what they are: a grand opportunity for America to show that its strength lies in its suppleness, in its ability to adjust.

Despite the rhetoric of the "black-and-white" set, Chris Cannon and others in his camp are not "pro-illegal alien." They simply want to grant working permission to productive workers. Those who detract from society — the indolent, the criminal, the violent — should be rounded up and sent back south posthaste. Get them out of here.

The "immigration purists" would have Americans believe that coming into the country illegally is worthy of a felony. It is not. The government hands out stiffer penalties to people who don't pay parking tickets.

The purists paint a bleak picture of a nation overrun by outsiders. It is a painting concocted out of fear.

The immigration issue is not a battle between evil and angels. America is not a chess game or a "Star Wars" movie. The problems the country faces are murky, difficult and lead to an unchartered landscape.

There are not angels and demons in this debate. There are only people.

We applaud Cannon for having the guts to wade into it all. We urge others to tug on their hip boots with him.

We urge alarmists who often miss the shades of a new, emerging America because they see only black and white, to tone down their attacks, see the swamp of contradictory laws and attitudes, and help Cannon clean it up.