Sen. Luz Robles' bill could become national model

SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Luz Robles' approach to Utah's immigration problem is the first of its kind in the United States and, if passed, immigration policy experts say, it could become a model for the nation.

Most state immigration solutions up to this point have focused on law enforcement, said Ann Morse, program director for the National Conference of State Legislators' Immigrant Policy Project. Those that address employment, as Robles' bill does, have focused on employer sanctions or the implementation of the federal E-Verify system. Robles' bill is more comprehensive.

"It's pretty unique," Morse said. The only bill that's remotely similar, she said, is Colorado's HB 1325, which sought to expedite recruitment and approval of seasonal workers — and that's not really similar at all.

Colorado's bill, like several others that have been proposed in recent months, was a guest worker program, meaning that it dealt with immigrants at the point of entry into the country. Robles' bill creates a system that would give illegal immigrants already living in the state a legal avenue to work.

"This bill deals with reality," said Robles, D-Salt Lake City. "These people are here, living amongst us. They are already working. This bill just brings those people to the surface and lets us know who they are and where they live."

Robles' bill also addresses several other concerns associated with illegal immigration: criminal activity, integration and taxes.

In order to get a permit under Robles' plan, immigrants would have to pass a background check. Because immigrants would be required to carry their permit on them at all times, Robles' believes the bill would help law enforcement weed out criminals. The bill also encourages immigrants to integrate into the community by requiring them to learn English and take civics classes. Immigrant tax contributions would be tracked.

"Coming from a state, it's the most comprehensive approach to immigration reform I've seen," said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of America's Voice, a Washington D.C. based advocacy group.

The bill is also unique because it is bipartisan, Tramonte said. Robles, who is a Democrat, developed the bill in conjunction with The Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank. Partisan politics are largely responsible for the federal government's failure to pass immigration reform.

"If a bipartisan piece of immigration legislation can work its way through in Utah, it shows Congress it can be done," Morse said.