Utah’s Wester attends White House immigration meeting:

Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, left, Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles city council member, second left, Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey, second right, and Bill Bratton, former Los Angeles and New York City police chief, emerge after meeting with President Obama about immigration reform at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

By Thomas Burr

The Salt Lake Tribune

First published 4 hours ago

Updated 18 minutes ago

Updated Apr 19, 2011 11:00PM

Washington • A Utah-born, common-ground approach to fixing America’s broken immigration system was part of a White House discussion Tuesday and may serve as a model in moving the dicey debate forward.

John Wester, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City and an architect of the Utah Compact, was one of the leaders invited to the meeting that included President Barack Obama and a bevy of Cabinet heads.

Wester said people in the room Tuesday seemed intrigued by how Utah is trying to tackle the immigration issue as compared with Arizona, which enacted a hard-line, law enforcement-only law last year. The Utah Compact is a set of ideals stressing humane treatment of undocumented residents and the need for a federal solution. It was endorsed by a broad range of Utah religious, business and community leaders.

[b]“There seemed to be interest in the room when the Utah Compact came up,â€