Latinos rally against state legislation hurtful to undocumented residents
By Nathan C. Gonzalez
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/23/2008 05:46:29 PM MST

When Alvaro Lopez left Oaxaca, Mexico bound for the U.S. in 1989, his goal was a better life for his loved ones.

"I didn't come to this country because I wanted to. It was because I needed to," Lopez said. "I needed a better future for my family."
Lopez said he is grateful for opportunities he has been given in the U.S. "This is a great nation," he said.

He was one of about 100 Latinos who gathered Saturday at the Centro Civico Mexicano in Salt Lake City, to voice opposition to several immigration reforms making their way through the state Legislature.

The group praised Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. for his opposition to two proposed measures, one that would repeal in-state tuition for immigrant students at the state's colleges, and another that would require drivers to get driving privilege cards.

"Gov. Huntsman understands one other thing: that immigration reform needs to be done on the federal level," said Tony Yapias, of the Proyecto Latino de Utah, which organized Saturday's event.

Of concern to many immigrants in Utah is SB81, which among other things would enlist state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws, force public employers and their contractors to verify the legal status of workers and make it a class A misdemeanor to transport or shelter undocumented immigrants.

"To us, there is nothing kinder or gentler on Senate Bill 81," Yapias said of the bill introduced by Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George.

During the rally, Yapias and others pleaded with immigrants to call Huntsman's office in opposition toward several immigration reform laws.

"We have rights in the eyes of God," Ricardo Hernandez told the crowd in Spanish, after Yapias opened the microphone to members of the crowd.
ngonzalez@sltrib.com
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8346742