Thread: UT-Bennett challengers want immigration reform

Bennett challengers want immigration reform
Joe Pyrah - | Posted: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 12:35 am |


Immigration wasn't supposed to be a front-page issue this year. Instead the race for U.S. Senate has been focused on federal bailouts, health care reform and the occasional sniping over spending billions of dollars on the military in the Middle East.

But Arizona has changed a lot of things in the past few weeks. The state has thrust immigration to the fore by passing its own law that allows local police to ask people for proof of citizenship "where reasonable suspicion exists" that the person isn't in the country legally. The border state is home to as many as 400,000 illegal residents and deals with concerns from additional crime to more burden on social programs.

The four frontrunners for U.S. Senate in Utah share many of the same proposals for federal immigration reform while supporting Arizona's new law to varying degrees. There are several significant differences between incumbent Bob Bennett and challengers Tim Bridgewater, Cherilyn Eagar and Mike Lee.

"In a recession when millions of people are losing their jobs ... our first priority is to make sure Americans have right of first refusal on those jobs," said Eagar, who wants to halt all immigration, including those coming in legally.

Eagar also wants to change the way the country deals with those born here. Currently, if you're born on U.S. soil, you are a citizen of the country. If you're born to illegal immigrants, then you're just an "anchor baby." Exactly how those newborn citizens of the United States can legally anchor anyone, Eagar couldn't elaborate on. But she would like to see a constitutional change to allow for automatic citizenship only if a child's parents are already citizens.

Bridgewater and Lee think much the same way, though neither think a constitutional amendment is required to change citizen requirements. Bridgewater said it can be done by statute and a Lee spokesman said that the 14th Amendment makes it clear that one can't simply be born on American soil to be considered a citizen.

The amendment reads in part: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

"If you're in here illegally, you're not under the jurisdiction of the United States," said Dan Hauser with the Lee campaign. (The mention of "anchor babies" was removed from Lee's website over the weekend.)

All the challengers feel potentially billions more should be spent to secure the southern border. The money would be used to varying degrees by Eagar to create a double-fence system, by Bridgewater to use a satellite monitoring system and by Lee to arm the border patrol with heavy weapons.

"Basically it's like a private army trying to come across with their drugs," Hauser said.

Bennett's campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comments on the immigration issue.

The state of Utah is responding to Arizona's new law. Orem Rep. Steve Sandstrom plans to run a similar bill next year. Bennett's challengers support the Arizona law, and the pending Utah bill as long it doesn't violate the country's Constitution.

"States are going to have to step up," Bridgewater said, because Congress and the president refuse to. The federal government can encourage those here illegally to leave by enforcing existing laws, he said. If businesses are fined for hiring illegally, then available jobs will dry up and people would theoretically go to their country of origin.

Lee wants to contract with those countries of origin to house illegal immigrants who break federal laws here in the United States. With proper supervision in those countries, it can be much cheaper than the current system, Hauser said.

"It would be nowhere among the dollars being spent housing them here getting three meals a day and a nice warm bed," he said.

Eagar said she wants to see English instituted as the national language to promote better assimilation. Legal immigrants would have a better understanding of the country's founding documents if they read it in the "language of freedom and liberty."

Saying she spotted the Census paperwork in six languages, it could also save some money.

Eagar has been endorsed by NumbersUSA, which advocates lower immigration levels.

Bridgewater has been endorsed by the Minuteman Project.

Posted in Elections on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 12:35 am Updated: 7:55 am.


http://heraldextra.com/news/local/govt- ... b3c07.html

Eagar sounds like the best choice for Utah.

"States are going to have to step up," Bridgewater said, because Congress and the president refuse to. The federal government can encourage those here illegally to leave by enforcing existing laws, he said. If businesses are fined for hiring illegally, then available jobs will dry up and people would theoretically go to their country of origin.

"States are going to have to step up." This implies that the states have a responsibility, and need not just wait for the idiots and traitorous vermin in Washington to do something.

Americans should not wait for, expect, beg, or think anything will change concerning illegal immigration and enforcement from the federal government alone. Have they not proven their disregard and malice toward the citizens of this nation already?

Wake up America, demand that your state takes it's responsibility and protects it's borders, resources and it's people. Do not expect the federal government to do what your state can and should be doing!