Caucus meeting becomes site of demonstration on immigration reform

TAYLORSVILLE — The political lines on immigration reform felt physically drawn on a small patch of grass in Taylorsville Park on Friday night. Symbolic of the divisive nature of the immigration issue itself, one group stayed put and the other kept its distance. The middle ground between the two groups was empty.

Some Utahns, including the Patrick Henry Caucus, are pushing for Utah to adopt a law similar to Arizona's immigration law, SB1070.

At Friday night's caucus meeting, members gathered to discuss their plans, including immigration reform. But the calm of the warm summer night was disrupted when about 30 protesters, including members of the Brown Berets and the Revolutionary Students Union, began chanting their objections to the caucus's plans.

More than 30 protesters chanted and waved signs reading "Slavery was a state right" and "Do I look illegal?"

The Patrick Henry Caucus, created by Utah legislator Carl Wimmer, has pushed issues at the Utah and federal levels of government on states' rights.

"We are taking a position of support when it comes to fighting illegal immigration," Wimmer said, "and they oppose that. Quite frankly, we welcome activism, we want citizens involved, we want people involved. It doesn't bother me at all."

As protesters shouted "Racists go home!" Senate-hopeful Tim Bridgewater, who was attending the caucus meeting, made his way over to talk to the protesters in a moment that seemed like an illegal border crossing.

"People want the rule of law to dominate on the issue of immigration, and I told them what my policy was," Bridgewater said. "They agreed with some of it, disagreed with other parts of it."

The protesters hoped to raise awareness about immigrant rights and to begin a new campaign to fight for civil rights and justice.

Families who have emigrated from Mexico and have been living in the states for generations fear they could be targeted by a law that they say permits racial profiling.

"There's no objective criteria by which you could determine or have reasonable suspicion of someone being illegal," said Gregory Lucero, the leader of the protest.

"In this case, the only criteria that could be used would be coincidental criteria like skin color or voice or accent, which have no legal bearing whatsoever."