Thread: Matheson reiterates immigration reform, border enforcement

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/188604/4/

Thursday, August 03, 2006
Matheson reiterates immigration reform, border enforcement

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ALAN CHOATE - Daily Herald
Despite the furor of immigration reform earlier this year, little is likely to happen on the issue before the elections, U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson said Wednesday -- although it could be an issue in congressional campaigns.

Matheson, D-Utah, is running for his fourth term representing the 2nd Congressional District, which includes a sliver of Utah County. He spoke to the Daily Herald's editorial board Wednesday.

Looking to unseat him this fall are Republican state Rep. LaVar Christensen; Constitution Party member W. David Perry; Libertarian Austin Sherwood Lett; and Bob Brister of the Utah Green Party.

Matheson reiterated his support for border enforcement and a guest worker program. He said any action on the issue probably will require White House involvement, but there will be little time to discuss the issue this fall. The House has recessed until after Labor Day, and likely will recess again at the end of September in order to campaign for November's elections.

The House and Senate passed wildly different versions of immigration reform legislation earlier this year. Those must be reconciled before President Bush can sign something into law.

"They are so far apart I'm not clear how the consensus is going to happen," Matheson said. "That's not a very satisfying answer, because I think we all know our current system is broken."

He said he supported the House bill, which stresses enforcement and penalties for illegal workers and those who employ them. He also supports introducing biometric identifiers to tighten security, such as matching a thumbprint to an identification card, as well as a fast system for employers to check the legal status of prospective employees.

Matheson also said that "you have to have some type of temporary guest worker program in place. ... Everybody plays by the same rules. There are no under-the-table payments any more. It's all got to be in the light of day."

He also said he opposes amnesty for people already in the country illegally as well as a provision in the Senate bill that lays out a fast path to citizenship for certain immigrants.

Christensen and Perry could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

One his Web site, however, Perry ripped into the idea of a guest worker program. He said it would "open our borders and steal our hard-earned dollars to pay for schools, housing, and medical benefits for illegal aliens that should be spent on local programs for local people that paid into these programs all of their working lives."

Lett, the Libertarian candidate, said he could probably accept a guest worker program. But he also said he didn't want to get bogged down in a discussion of immigration policy nuances because his party's criticisms of the federal government are far broader.

"We have way too much government. We have violated the Constitution grossly," he said, by enacting numerous government departments and imposing taxes to pay for them. "The government is the problem. It just continues to grow."

The government first should be pared back to functions explicitly called for in the Constitution, Lett said, before adding to federal law by instituting immigration reforms. Brister, of the Green Party, also took a broader view of the issue.

"The immigration issue is somewhat of a red herring," he said. "Very few candidates are talking about the origins of immigration. People immigrate to go to resources. Unfair trade policies have impoverished whole nations, including Mexico."

His campaign is emphasizing the need to leave Iraq, raising the minimum wage, national health insurance and environmental concerns, Brister said. Some of those issues do connect to immigration, he noted -- higher wages might lead to more U.S. workers taking jobs currently held by illegal workers, for instance, and U.S. foreign policy could play a role in alleviating poverty in other countries.

Matheson said the Bush administration would have to make immigration reform a priority again in order for something to pass Congress -- but, with Bush entering the final years of his presidency dogged by continuing Middle East violence and sluggish approval ratings, even that may not be enough.

"A lot of it is going to be tied to the president," Matheson said. "Politically, he is not in the strongest position. He's pretty strong here in Utah, but nationally he's not too strong."

Lett, the Libertarian candidate, said he could probably accept a guest worker program. But he also said he didn't want to get bogged down in a discussion of immigration policy nuances because his party's criticisms of the federal government are far broader.

There's a good reason why he doesn't want to talk about it, the Libertarian Party's plank calls for open borders, with workers going and coming as they please according to supply and demand. One of the reasons I can't support the Libertarian party.