A valuable immigration guide

A group of University of Utah honors students has published a marvelous little guide to the issues surrounding illegal immigration — a guide the authors say is "not trying to advocate an ideological position for or against immigration."

This is one issue, however, in which even presenting facts can be seen by some as advocating a position. For instance, the guide discusses the fiscal impacts of illegal immigrants and notes that studies show they contribute billions of dollars in local, state and federal taxes. That's a fact anti-immigrant forces have been unwilling to recognize. It also notes that studies show the annual publicly subsidized costs of providing health care to undocumented residents is not significant — about $1 billion nationally.

Even the section of the guide that discusses the raw facts of history could come across to some as biased. That's because today's immigration debate has echoes that bounce off the walls of time clear back to the earliest days of the republic. People already here typically have feared the influx of new people who are different. In 1882, for instance, Congress outlawed the immigration of any new Chinese laborers and allowed the deportation of anyone of Chinese descent. In 1917, all people of Asian descent were banned from entering the United States.

Then, of course, there are the sections of the report that deal with the personal stories of immigrants. Some of these are told anonymously because so many people who are here illegally fear retribution and deportation. Some people would rather not deal with what they consider to be sob stories. But immigration is all about humans and their basic desires for a decent living — the same desires that brought many others to these shores, legally and illegally.

The U. students understand the issues that divide America on this topic. They understand the obstacles that have to be overcome before solutions are found. That's why they wrote in the guide's conclusion, "if we have had an agenda, it has been that we are pro-immigrant. Immigration made this country into what it is and will continue to revitalize this nation ..."

It's hard to understand how anyone can take a dry-eyed look at this issue and not reach the same conclusion. A practical guest-worker program would allow the hard-working immigrants to contribute to the U.S. economy and make it easier for authorities to deport the rest. A tough anti-immigrant stance would repeat the mistakes of the past.

Our hope is that state lawmakers, educators and others will use this valuable guide as a resource for understanding what really is at stake.