Huntsman searches for solutions on immigration

Some in the anti-immigration movement do not like Huntsman's coziness with the vast country that begins 500 miles south of Utah.

"Jon Huntsman Jr. is public enemy No. 1," Minuteman Alex Segura said at an August rally. "I'm going to try everything to derail Huntsman's efforts."

But the governor says he's not trying to be an apologist for Mexico. Officials there seem to be doing their best to discourage the flow of people moving out of Central America and broader Latin America to Mexico, he says.

"They will tell you they turn away 300,000 to 500,000 per year, primarily from Central America," the governor said. "And if Mexico doesn't turn them back, they come right through porous borders right into the U.S."

One of the most important tenets of Utah and the nation is a sense of "openness," Huntsman said. " . . . An openness to ideas, openness to goods and services, an openness to people.

"That's who we are as a country. It's what we've always been. I think it will long be a part of our foundation."

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