Utah's Misguided Immigration Bill Package and the Laughable Attacks by the ANTI Immigration Reform Forces!

In recent weeks, Utah has passed a series of Immigration laws they said were intended as a collaborative approach to Immigration Reform. These bills are awaiting the governor's signature next week. The three bills are: HB 497, HB 116 and HB 466. (see Description below)

Overall, the bills are not supported by PRO or ANTI Immigration Reform groups.

PRO IMMIGRATION REFORM OPPOSITION:
The vast majority of Immigration Reformers primarily oppose HB 497. This bill promotes Arizona style Racial Profiling (eg: sb1070) and if signed, goes into effect in 60 days.

ANTI IMMIGRATION REFORM OPPOSITION:
The ANTI Immigration Reform Crowd, particularly Alipac, are up in arms against HB116. Why? Because the bill defines a Guest Worker type program with a clause that allows for a pathway to citizenship for some current undocumented workers IF they meet certain criteria. Alipac's William Gheen is so up in arms about this bill that he and his goon squad are calling for the "ouster of incumbent Senator Orin Hatch (R) and Governor Gary Herbert due to their support for Amnesty for illegal aliens, which would destroy America's borders." Gheen is also angry at the Mormon Church for supporting this bill and added "With the full backing of the Church of Latter Day Saints in Utah, these men are trying to pass an Amnesty that will increase the pain and suffering that innocent American workers, students, taxpayers, and voters are experiencing due to illegal immigration."
This bill does NOT go into effect until 2013 and even then, it will only go into effect IF the Federal Government grants a "waiver." An additional note in the bill indicates they recognize this bill is unconstitutional.
Utah has no intent on having this portion of the bill enacted. You would think that even Gheen could see this is merely a placebo to appease the masses on the side of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

ACTUAL INTENT OF THESE BILLS:
The most interesting aspect of these bills is the third leg of the bill, HB 466. This bill sets up a "Sister State" program between Utah and Nuevo Leon, Mexico. This allows Utah to bring in temporary workers from Nuevo Leon, Mexico to pick their crops each summer and to ship them home at the end of the summer. Now we get to the ACTUAL INTENT OF THESE BILLS and why these bills were passed.
Who is pushing these bills? The state's Farm Bureaus, Big Business and the Mormon Church.
Why? They need Farm Workers to pick the crops. We currently have an AgJob worker shortage and as I have been reporting, with the bulk of our Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, we will soon be experiencing a severe worker shortage, particularly in the AgJob industry. Utah Farm Bureaus are seeing this, so is Big Business in Utah, so is the Mormon Church, and soon, so will other States.

My View:
It is clear. Utah's Immigration Bills do NOT support the PRO position. HB497 is clearly a redux of sb1070. HB116 is clearly a sham - a fake carrot. It was intended to appease the Pro Immigration Reformers. It is merely a false hope. The actual intent of these bills is clear. There is an AgJob worker shortage in Utah and this shortage will become massive over the next few years. Utah Big Business, Farm Bureaus and the Mormon Church have recognized this early. There is a NEED that MUST be filled. My suggestion: Try Real Immigration Reform and a pathway to citizenship. However, Big Business and Farm Bureaus don't want this. They want to continue to pay low wages, have unsafe working conditions and exploit workers so they can expand on profits.
My message to the PROs and the ANTIs: If you want to fight this battle, fight it for the RIGHT reasons and expose the Governor and Big Business and Farm Bureaus for what they are actually doing here.

DESCRIPTION - UTAH IMMIGRATION BILLS:
. HB 497: It is the same as Arizona's sb1070. It is a racial profiling bill that grants state and local law enforcement officers broad authority and discretion to enforce federal immigration laws whenever they stop, detain or arrest individuals. And, once signed, can go into effect as soon as 60 days.
. HB 116: This bill establishes a state "Guest Worker" program (separate from the federally-administered farm worker program), where Utah would set eligibility criteria to grant state temporary worker permits that allow some immigrants to work and reside in the state. Under the program, a small proportion of the state’s current undocumented residents who meet certain eligibility criteria would be eligible for state residency and work authorization. (pathway to citizenship) This legalization is contingent on the federal government granting a "waiver" to the state to issue these permits, and would not take effect until 2013, or 6 months after the federal government issues such a waiver. (NOTE: This portion of the bill is unconstitutional since only the Federal government is authorized to grant these work authorizations/visas and this is so noted in the bill).
. HB 466: This bill creates a 27 member state commission to issue Immigration recommendations and policy for the state. It also authorizes Utah’s governor to enter into a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Mexican state of Nuevo León to allow Mexican temporary workers to work in Utah.

Bush Enacts Last Minute Legislation to Abuse Migrant Workers and Pander to Farm Owners! Dissing American Workers, Regardless of Economy!

President Bush should be charged for his criminal pandering to Big Ag Business! As my long time readers know, I am a former Migrant Worker, as was my family including my Beloved Father and Mother!
There has been a long history of abuse in our country of Farm Workers. And this month, President Bush has continued this evil tradition!
The Bush administration has announced new rules this week to make it easier for farm owners to bypass American workers, exploit Guest Workers and provide very poor working conditions! Here are two reports of this story:
The New York Times reports:
LOS ANGELES — The Bush administration announced new rules on Thursday that it said would lessen the bureaucratic burden on employers seeking to hire foreign farm workers. Advocates for the workers, however, contended the changes would depress wages and working conditions...The changes apply to a guest worker program known as H-2A, after the visa that allows farmers to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis for field jobs they cannot fill with Americans...Bruce Goldstein, executive director of Farmworker Justice, an advocacy group that opposes the changes. He said, “The intent is a massive expansion of the guest worker program by enticing employers into a program with low wages and poor working conditions.”
Harvesting Injustice reports:
“This parting gift on behalf of the Bush Administration to our nation's farmworkers is irresponsible and completely unacceptable. The H-2A guestworker program is already rife with abuse. These changes will only make a bad program worse. That's why today, Farmworker Justice is releasing a special report, Litany of Abuses: Why more -not fewer-labor protections are needed in the H-2A program. This report explains the current protections within the program and highlights some recent court cases illustrating the harm caused to both U.S. farmworkers and guestworkers alike. We urge you to take a look at the report then act now to urge Congress to take action to stop the Bush Administration from formally issuing the regulations. There are reasonable alternatives to solve the farm labor crisis that have won bipartisan support. The Bush Administration's harmful changes are completely unnecessary.”
The regulations go into effect on Jan. 18, 2009, just two days before President Obama is inaugurated. Bush, in this last minute, lame duck moment, is pandering to PAC Contributors and Farm Owners. This change is bad for American Workers and Bad for migrant workers. Who does it benefit? Big business farm owners, the Lobbyists and the pocket-books of the RNC.
Kudos to the Unapologetic Mexican Blog and Harvesting Injustice for their investigative reporting!

Politicians in the Heartland Agree! Say NO to MASS Deportation!!

Politicians across the Heartland from ALL political parties are in agreement. They ALL are saying NO to Mass Deportation!

Agrinews Reports: Immigration: Barkley said the nation needs to bring immigration out of the closet and deal with it. It would be impossible to deport 12 million people. The only thing building a 21-foot-tall fence along the border with Mexico will do is create a demand for 21-foot-tall ladders, he said. The only people who need to be deported are members of the ruling party in Washington, Williams said. The nation's economy would collapse if all illegal immigrants were deported. He proposes a program where illegal immigrants register as guest workers and that the company hiring them pay their health insurance costs and a 10 percent tax on their wages to pay for costs associated with integrating them into the United States. Many Minnesota dairy farmers rely on guest workers to milk their cows and those workers need to be put on a path to citizenship, Franken said.
"We need comprehensive immigration reform," he said. Coleman said the priority should be secure borders. He doesn't support a required path to citizenship, but he does support a guest worker program.

Two Faced Napolitano & McCain! Restrictionist Arizona Laws Causes State to Lose $! Now new program invites new Mexican Guest Workers!

Arizona. In 2007, the home of the Nation´s severist restrictionist Immigration Laws. These laws promised to "come down hard" on not only illegal immigrants but on employers. Since the laws have passed, Arizona has seen changes, however not the changes they wanted.
As Sheriff Arpaio came down hard on Latinos, legal and illegal, via Racial Profiling Sweeps of Latino majority cities and towns. Latinos, both legal and illegal, fled in terror of being caught up in these raids.
While to date, not ONE employer has been arrested or sanctioned, Arizona is suffering the impacts of these restrictionist laws. Business owners are going out of business and they are suffering from the inability to hire workers needed to do the job, all while the state is experiencing one of their lowest unemployment rates in history.
Fast forward to May, 2008. Arizona , John McCain´s home state, the state with the most broken immigration policies, is seeking to change their laws and invite in more Guest Workers from Mexico.
My only question is to the bad-boy Sheriff Arpaio, "whatcha gonna do when they come for you..." All of the invited Guest Workers!
The Tucson Citizen Reports:
PHOENIX - With lawmakers temporarily diverting their focus from the state's budget crisis, the hot-button issue of immigration is getting renewed attention in the state Senate, where one lawmaker vows to conduct what would amount to a filibuster. Senators this week are expected to consider both a bill to revise the 2007 employer sanctions law penalizing businesses that knowingly hire illegal workers and a separate proposal creating a new state guest worker program. Arizona is the nation's busiest border crossing point for illegal immigrants, and the 2007 employer sanctions law was enacted in an attempt to eliminate jobs as a magnet for illegal entrants. The bill (SB 1374) to make numerous changes to the sanctions law is a response to criticism from business owners and others about its fairness and workability. Proposed changes include making its penalties for employers apply only to workers hired on or after Jan. 1 and establishing a new voluntary compliance program. The guest worker proposal would ask for federal permission so Arizona could create a program to provide temporary foreign workers for employers who experience labor shortages. ..

Proponents argue that creation of the program would help employers while diminishing unregulated illegal immigration, but it drew fire during a Republican caucus Tuesday as senators said it could undercut American workers and open the door for unreimbursed health care costs. The measure's sponsor, Democratic Sen. Marsha Arzberger of Willcox, later said she has commitments from enough fellow senators for passage. She briefly flashed a "laundry list" of checkmarks next to names of senators but declined to allow a reporter to examine it in detail. Arzberger said work for Americans would be protected because the state Industrial Commission, one of the agencies that would help administer the program, would determine whether businesses had made adequate attempts to hire local workers. The immigration-related measures are among numerous pieces of legislation being considered during a lull in budget action.