Huntsman tackling immigration

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is here to win support from other Western governors for a new national immigration policy that includes a call for a temporary guest worker program — but not blanket amnesty.

Huntsman's proposed policy, outlined in a five-page resolution drafted with the help of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, will be discussed today by members of the Western Governors' Association — and, the governor hopes, adopted.

Huntsman said all of the Western governors have received copies of the resolution and seem to support it, although he said he'll have to wait and see the outcome of the vote set to take place today.

Just getting the governors to consider taking a stand on the issue, Huntsman said, "is a fairly remarkable feat by itself." He said he thought it would be difficult to even approach the issue with other governors.

"The voice of the governors is a very important thing," he said.

He emphasized that the timing is especially important because Congress is likely to take up legislation addressing immigration next month.

The governor said he's been told by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is sponsoring immigration legislation, that if "we could get a resolution through, representing the views of Western governors, that would be huge."

If approved, Huntsman said, the resolution will show that the leaders of Western states, several of which are border states or "gateway" states like Utah, "embrace a common language" on how to handle immigration's biggest issues.

Western states need to weigh in on the issue with Congress because they "suffer a disproportionate financial burden on health care, education, the environment and criminal justice system because of unauthorized migration from Mexico," according to the resolution.

The issue of how the country should deal with undocumented workers is important enough to Utah's governor that he's skipping all but the last 1 1/2 days of the final week of the 2006 Utah Legislature for the National Governors Association meeting in Washington.

Huntsman, along with the other governors, has been to the White House to see President Bush and has met with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.

The conference includes panels addressing various issues, including one focusing on oil dependence and energy issues that Huntsman attended Monday. He'll bring up the immigration resolution today with Western governors before heading back to Utah.