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  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Fox's Utah visit a flash point?

    http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3824387

    Fox's Utah visit a flash point?
    Illegal-immigration foes see opportunity in Mexican leader's visit

    By Lisa Rosetta
    The Salt Lake Tribune
    Salt Lake Tribune

    Mexican President Vicente Fox's visit to the Beehive State isn't being billed as a summit on immigration issues.

    But for groups like the Utah Minuteman Project, it may as well be.

    "No to Aztlan" will be the message of the Utah Minutemen, who plan to stage demonstrations at the governor's mansion May 23 and the state capitol May 24, according to the group's Web site. The rallying cry is a reference to an idea that some Latinos want to establish a separate Latino nation - Aztlan - in the southwestern United States their ancestors once occupied.

    Jeff McNeil, a Utah Minuteman, said he'll be among the 150 or so people who plan to protest undocumented workers - if the group's permit is approved by the Secret Service, which provides security for visiting heads of state.

    He said he is angry Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. invited Fox to Utah at all.

    Fox should be "considerate of the United States and help to protect its borders and sovereignty," McNeil said. "And if he's going to come, most of the things he needs to talk about are how he is going to do that."

    In a news conference last week, however, Huntsman and Salt Lake Mexican Consul Salvador Jimenez indicated the Mexican president's visit will help strengthen economic and political ties between Utah and Mexico, and support the Mexican immigrant community.

    Immigration, it appears, will not be the focal point of their dialogue.

    But Wally McCormick, a Utah Minuteman who has twice patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border, said it is important to protest during Fox's visit "to get our word out to the public officials. Each one of us represents 1,000 people who wish they could be here doing the same thing."

    By allowing undocumented workers to comfortably reside here, taking advantage of programs and benefits paid for with tax dollars, the United States is encouraging illegal immigration, he said.

    "The borders should be secured, period," he said. "There is no country in the world except the USA that has free borders where people can walk into the country, demand rights, be paid benefits, and live like kings and queens."

    President Bush is scheduled to address the nation tonight about illegal immigration and border security.

    U.S. Senate and House leaders met last week and cleared the way for debate on immigration-reform legislation that could give millions of undocumented workers the opportunity to become American citizens. A vote could be scheduled before Memorial Day. One Senate bill would allow those undocumented workers who have been in the country five years or longer to apply for citizenship.

    This, before Fox's visit, has some anti-immigration groups fuming.

    "I don't think they have a real feel for what's happening all over the country. I think it will be the No. 1 issue of the next election, over Iraq even," said Phyllis Sears, chairwoman of the Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration.

    Sears said her organization's board is scheduled to meet before Fox's visit and will discuss what, if anything, it plans to do while he is here.

    It is unlikely members will make the trek to Salt Lake City during Fox's visits because most of them plan to attend the second national "Unite to Fight" illegal immigration conference in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend.

    "All of the different groups from all over the country who are working on immigration will be there to network," she said.

    Most important to the Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration, she said, is seeing the U.S. border secured.

    "We'd like our laws enforced," Sears said. "After that occurs and after the election, we can talk about what to do with the 20 million [undocumented workers] here."

    Mike Sizer, chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, said Fox's visit has stirred interest among advocates for changes in immigration laws.

    "Certainly a lot of people have been asking about it and calling about it, wondering about what they can do about it," he said.

    Sizer maintains Fox has encouraged Mexicans to illegally emigrate to the United States, and speculates he will talk to Huntsman about an amnesty proposal.

    While Sizer - who was working Friday night to prepare for the state Republican Convention - said members of UFIRE may join the Minutemen in their demonstrations, the group functions primarily by working within the political parties to effect change.

    UFIRE, for instance, was behind legislation that prohibits undocumented workers from obtaining a valid driver license. It also pushed for a bill that would deny undocumented workers in-state college-tuition benefits.

    "We believe in immigration," Sizer said. "But we believe in legal immigration."

    At the state Republican Convention, Sizer said, there are "candidates who are not so good on illegal immigration, and I think what I'm feeling - what I'm hearing - is many delegates want a change."
    lrosetta@sltrib.com
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

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