'Minutemen' seek a voice

RAZ-PAC president Bob Gallegos and Joe Reyna, Republican co-chairman of the Utah Hispanic Legislative Task Force, found themselves on opposite sides of that debate.

However, both now say they'll fight against any further attempts to repeal laws benefiting undocumented immigrants.

"There's not going to be any middle ground," said Reyna, who was criticized by many in the Hispanic community, along with other task force members, for offering "reluctant support" of SB227 as a compromise between keeping illegal immigrants' drivers' licenses and repealing them altogether.

"I don't think Utah will take it," Reyna said of any future effort to repeal Utah laws benefiting undocumented immigrants. "We will rally against it."

Randy Green of St. George, a member of Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration, said his participation in the Minuteman Project helped show closing the border is possible.

"Looking at all these troops going to Iraq, why can't they train along the border?" Green said.

Minuteman Darrel Wood of Price also hopes his volunteer efforts will result in legislation. He's hoping to find a lawmaker to bring up a bill similar to Arizona's Proposition 200, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. It also requires state and local governments to verify eligibility of applicants for services not federally mandated, and to report applicants who aren't documented.

"I'm hoping the Utah people will wake up and see we are giving them benefits, and say that's not right," Wood said.

Matt Throckmorton, an activist against illegal immigration, said he supported SB227, because "it covers most of Prop. 200."

The bill, he said, prevents undocumented immigrants from registering to vote using "motor voter." It also, he said, prevents them from using their identification to access public benefits for which a driver's license serves as identification.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com