Hispanic meeting boycotted by some

The meeting with the governor, he said, was an opportunity to move forward on other, less divisive, issues — such as addressing the educational achievement gap that Hispanic youths face.

"Immigration is such a controversial issue nationwide, it's impossible for everyone to be on the same page," he said. "It's very normal for us to have different opinions. I just don't think we're going to agree on everything."

The meeting focused largely on education, something Reyna said the Hispanic community is united on. He said he was encouraged that both Democrats and Republicans attended.

Huntsman "is very sincere," Reyna said. "He would like to have us as a bipartisan group to advise him on these issues. ... I hope as this moves along we can work together."

Yapias said he's developing a new organization — tentatively called the Latino Community Council — to act as a unifying umbrella for Latino organizations around the state, by advocating for the community, helping to implement service projects, and empowering leaders.

Yapias wants it to fill a role intended by the Utah Hispanic Leadership Committee, which he said has been largely ineffective.

Sylvia Haro, chairwoman of the leadership committee, acknowledged the group has been recently inactive, but said she wants to revitalize it.

She plans to step down as chairwoman and is inviting new leaders to step in — including Yapias.

"What I want to see is more unity," she said. "We're not going to get anything done if we're divided."

Haro noted the committee was praised for early achievements, such as creating the Utah Hispanic Legislative Task Force and a Latino day at the state Capitol.

"When this leadership was committee put together, there was so much praise from legislators and the community," she said. "It's sad to see some people ... want to say, 'Everything's failing because I'm not part of the game.' "

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