PROVO — School officials hope a Hispanic student-leadership conference, which is expected to draw 600 students from central Utah, will encourage students to attend classes May 1, when a nationwide immigrant stay-at-home day is planned.

At the April 28 meet, students from Utah, Sanpete and Juab counties will learn about pending federal immigration legislation, how laws are passed and the benefits of graduating from high school and college, said Jose Enriquez, an assistant principal at Provo High School, which will host the conference.

The conference will culminate with a march on Freedom Boulevard — chosen in part for its name — to the Provo office of Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, where the students will toss the graduation caps into the air.

High school administrators have granted students permission to attend the conference in the form of excused absences, Enriquez said. If they miss school on May 1, however, absences may not be excused.

May 1 is "A Day Without Immigrants," with planned rallies, strikes and boycotts. However, some immigrant rights groups, including those in Utah, hesitate to participate, worried that another around of rallies and protests will hurt their cause.

And other immigration rights groups are waiting for the U.S. Senate to pass an immigration reform bill before they decide action.

The April 28 event, sponsored by Provo School District, Stevens-Henager College and Brigham Young University's law school, will be the second annual Hispanic leadership conference for central Utah high schoolers, but this year's timing and theme are in part designed to teach the students about democracy and current events, said Enriquez.

The issues are relevant to the students, many of whom Enriquez said have parents who are undocumented or are undocumented themselves.

"We want to teach them about it, so they know what's going on, they're not misinformed," he said.

Most of the information they receive about pending legislation comes from television. And many have watched immigrant-rights rallies on TV, Enriquez said.

"People are out there — they think there's a chance for them," Enriquez said. "They feel there is a hope. That's what this is about. It gives them hope."

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