Deseret News | Immigration law not needed now

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Immigration law not needed now

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To GOV- HUNTSMAN | 4:00 p.m. Dec. 21, 2008

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN.

Re: Kenny | 5:13 p.m. Dec. 21, 2008

Thanks for your comments, they show how closed minded and misguided Americans can be. Anyone who wants to support the minutemen group is in need of some serious therapy.

Save our environment? Seriously? How desperate an argument are you going to grasp at here? This is Utah saving the environment is considered the work of the devil.

How is "our culture" in danger? Please tell me what "our culture" means in a land populated with people from almost every ethnic group on Earth. Unless you are Native American you are here because of immigrants- quite possibly illegal ones.

We do not need another Chinese Exclusion Act. We need to help these people adapt and learn how to live in this country. We can only do this by helping them not scaring them. Terrorizing them won't make them stop coming here.

Stop acting like the US and Utah are a whites only country-club.

Ronnie Bray | 6:41 p.m. Dec. 21, 2008

Discrimination for any reason is not only a social evil, but also a moral evil.

Illegal immigrants are NOT the cause of the current US economic depression. That honour is laid at the feet of a Texas oil millionaire.

The enemy within is much closer to home than the folks most folks think of as enemies of US workers.

The majority of immigrant workers are doing jobs that Americans will NOT do. The jobs that Americans WILL do have been shipped overseas by the present administration.

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments posted at 12.08 20th December 2008.

The reason we are in the world is to be saved and to help others to be saved. All else is conmmentary.

Ronnie Bray

Comments continue below

JAKE | 7:11 p.m. Dec. 21, 2008

RE 5:13PM

I'm afraid you are the one who is misguided to all the facts. I'm sorry for you!

tenx | 8:30 p.m. Dec. 21, 2008

If the gov can't uphold the laws that he took an oath to uphold, then he should resign and go to work for La Raza. We not only need SB 81 NOW, we also need some politicians with the backbone to enforce our laws - not just the ones they think will make political hay.

USA FIRST! | 6:51 a.m. Dec. 22, 2008

Re: tenx -- You stole the words right out of my mouth.... I agree completely.

Are You Kidding | 8:36 a.m. Dec. 22, 2008

Huntsman is showing his true beliefs again! This guy wants open borders, welfare to all and lets be the grand happy family all shivering in the cold together! What a jerk! Uphold the law like you took an oath to! No one told you to pick and choose your favorite law! July 1 it goes into effect or you go out! I am so tired of his silver spoon attitude about everything. Wake up stupid, the illegals are still costing the state of Utah millions and millions of dollars! Is anyone out there out of work right now? Oh, you mean we have increased unemployment while Huntsman still wants to coddle the illegals that are employed while the citizens of the state are collecting unemployment? Does this surprise you? This is the guy that thought John McCain, the amnesty king of the senate, walks on water and was his ticket out of Utah to the White House! Too bad Johnny boy, Sarah got the nod and you got the cold shoulder. It would be nice if Huntsman got a federal appointment though. Then Gary Herbert could be the governor and we would be rid of the liberal silver spoon!

Re: Hello? | 9:18 a.m. Dec. 22, 2008

You just showed how ignorant you are in your comment. How could you tell the people in the grocery story were "illegal." You couldn't. You could tell they had brown skin. And you think anyone with brown skin is bad and an illegal. There is no way you can tell somes immigration status just by looking at them. I'm proud of Governor Huntsman for being an intelligent voice of reason. If the Republican party (of which I am a member) doesn't start reaching out to hispanic voters and standing up to bigots who have tainted the party, it will FOREVER be a minority party in this country. We can say good bye to the days of conservativism.

Citizens First!!! | 9:51 a.m. Dec. 22, 2008

Hunsman, was our family's top discussion yesterday. He also no longer has any of our families respect. He needs too resign from Gov-office as an American traitor.

You people who sit around calling Americans 'racist' are the true racist, and use this to excuse yourselves for breaking the USA laws.

Debbie | 10:08 a.m. Dec. 22, 2008

Re: hello?,
Take your threats to the police and don't threaten USA citizens for wanting to protect their country. Huntsman is not good for USA, and he needs to step down.

Dan | 10:39 a.m. Dec. 22, 2008

To- MR HUNTSMAN,
Please do Utan's a righteous favor and resign from office. Oh yeah, have a Merry Christmas too.

Let's not be hasty | 11:27 a.m. Dec. 22, 2008

The Gov is absolutely right in that we shouldn't be hasty. We should deliberate on the issue and take it slow. The problem is that illegal immigration to this point has been anything but slow. The unchecked millions of unauthorized immigrants to this country have started to force our hand politically, and the situation will only get worse (economic slowdown notwithstanding). Prudent immigration policy would consider how many immigrants this country needs or feels morally obligated to take in. The question then becomes who. I doubt letting millions of (mostly) Mexican citizens nominate themselves is the best course of action. I'm disappointed to see such a lack of leadership from Mr. Huntsman. Clearly, he's out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Utahns.

Spineless | 4:08 p.m. Dec. 22, 2008

Yes, lets be HASTY and ask Gov-Huntsman to please step down- Thank-you very much!

REK | 7:10 p.m. Dec. 22, 2008

So a few hundred thousand illegal aliens have gone home so we should forget enforcement. WRONG! And when the ecomomy improves and they and more, head north again. The argument that the Hispanics voted Democratic because the Democrats promised the most to illegal aliens is precisly why we need to get this mess under control. The more illegal aliens that come here and have children here (voting citizen children), the more votes will be cast in favor of illegal immigration.

Get Smart | 1:29 a.m. Dec. 23, 2008

To Elizabeth, et al: The following is basic fourth grade arithmetic and your basic connect the dots exercise. Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics re-benchmarked the payroll jobs data back to 2000. The data is adjusted from January 2001 through January 2006.

Job growth over the last five years is the weakest on record. The US economy came up more than 7 million jobs short of keeping up with population growth. Thatï¿½s one good reason for controlling immigration. An economy that cannot keep up with population growth should not be boosting population with heavy rates of legal and illegal immigration.
Over the past five years the US economy experienced a net job loss in goods producing activities. The entire job growth was in service-providing activitiesï¿½primarily credit intermediation, health care and social assistance, waiters, waitresses and bartenders, and state and local government. Due to space limitations, I will try to add one more comment.

US manufacturing lost 2.9 million jobs, almost 17% of the manufacturing work force. The wipeout is across the board. Not a single manufacturing payroll classification created a single new job.

Vicky | 7:49 a.m. Dec. 23, 2008

Utah should move ahead with SB-81 post-haste because there are hidden costs to illegal immigration (and legal for that matter). Last year in Idaho, the law was changed to define students who don't speak English as 'students at risk'. This designation entitles them and their families to some very expensive social services. Since ideas like this come out of Washington DC, I'm sure this ticking timebomb was in Utah's annual education legislation also.

Set an example for us Utah. Enforce the law - send illegals home and punish law-breaking employers.

RW | 11:04 a.m. Dec. 24, 2008

This country was built on immigration (i.e. English, Poles, Italians, Germans, etc. etc.) It just so happens that we as a country have decided we just don't want any more (i.e. Mexicans). IMHO, that is the biggest factor in the overall problem of illegal immigration.

They are here illegally and we have no choice but to uphold the law, which says they shouldn't be here. However, if we learn from the past and realize what an opportunity it would be to have an influx of new citizens, we would find a legal solution to this.

In short, until we legally welcome immigrants or conversely, enforce the laws currently on the books (which seems almost impossible to do given the length of the Rio Grande), we'll be stuck in this quagmire.

Thanks for listening. I don't have all the solutions, just some thoughts.

RUKIDDING | 9:20 a.m. Dec. 26, 2008

I think everybody needs to settle down and realize this isn't about hate or race or any such thing.

Illegal immigration is against the law and these people are guilty of identity theft, not filing state or federal taxes just to mention a few.

The American economy is currently in the toilet and American jobs need to go to legal documented workers, American or otherwise.

jbishop | 1:47 p.m. Jan. 6, 2009

What do you mean Illegal Immigration is not an issue anymore Mr. Huntsman?

I live on the west side of Salt Lake City, Governor, and from where I stand, with Mexicans outnumbering me 10 to 1, it is still a very big issue. There is not a single day that I can go out anywhere in public without feeling like I am a foreigner in my own country and must constantly suppress the urge to vilify those who I feel have stolen my home and my city from me. The playground of the elementary school next door is filled with 95% Hispanic children here illegally or illegally by proxy because their parents are here illegally. Where's the diversity in that?

Minimum Wage? | 2:03 p.m. Jan. 6, 2009

Look, the Hispanics I know all make more than I do and drive better cars. One of the reasons for this is that what had been traditionally blue collar work of our middle class citizens, being in the construction trade, these high paying jobs are all being taken up by illegal immigrants. They aren't just raddish pickers anymore. At my local Zion's bank there isn't a single non-hispanic person employed. Where am I going to get a job, Burger King?

LOL | 2:08 p.m. Jan. 6, 2009

I doubt you can a job at Burger King unless you speak Spanish! Guess you'll have to go pick raddishes.

AmericanNeedsjob | 12:03 p.m. Jan. 9, 2009

In complaining about the cost of the new immigration law, Mr Huntsman & the Utah Legislature are conveniently ignoring its benefits. The law will: help reserve American jobs for citizens and legal residents in a recession; reduce public expenditures on benefits for the ineligible; reduce illegal-alien crime; and assist citizens who have had their identities stolen.

He has also stated that this bill puts a burden on law enforcement officers. This is completely untrue. Law enforcement officers are not forced to be immigration officials under the new law; they are empowered to check immigration status as a means to protect the public during the normal course of their duties. When officers in other parts of the nation have applied to participate in immigration enforcement activities, they have found that it enhances, not detracts from, their ability to perform their normal duties.

Please listen to the will of the people of Utah. We have made it clear time and again (at both the state and national level) that we want more stringent immigration enforcement. Undermining the new immigration law would be tantamount to amnesty.

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