Governor wants 'comprehensive' immigration bill

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says he wants state legislators to enact comprehensive immigration legislation and not to just pass an Arizona-style bill that focuses on enforcement of federal immigration laws.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports Herbert made the remarks during a private meeting with members of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly on Friday in the governor's mansion.

Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling said the governor wants Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, and other lawmakers to work together on the issue.

"What he wants to see is one comprehensive bill or several bills that are complementary and cover all parts of the spectrum," Welling told the Tribune. "He doesn't want to see just one enforcement bill."

Sandstrom is modeling his bill after Arizona's law, which requires local authorities to enforce federal immigration laws. Work on the bill is mostly complete, he said.

Gloria Cardenas Conn, a West Valley City lawyer who works with immigration issues and attended the meeting with Herbert, said she was encouraged by the tenor of the dialogue.

"It was an incredibly respectful meeting," she said, "and it was a meaningful discussion, and it was a chance for him to discover our concerns about the impacts of proposed legislation."

The Hispanic Assembly also huddled with Sandstrom last week to discuss his bill. Sandstrom took recommendations from the group but said the latest draft "is pretty much the bill now."

"The only thing I'm changing is technical wording at this point," he said.