Thread: Utah Fight Against Amnesty: Another David and Goliath Story

ALIPAC EXCLUSIVE

Utah Fight Against Amnesty: Another David and Goliath Story

July 7, 2011

By Cherilyn Eagar, Director
American Leadership Fund

Beginnings
In the mid-1990s, Gayle Ruzicka, President of Utah Eagle Forum and a mainstay of conservative citizen lobbying at the state legislature, asked Ron Mortensen, a researcher for the Center for Immigration Studies and leader of CitizensForTaxFairness.org, to help with immigration issues. A coalition of like-minded leaders joined them from around the state including SaveUtah Citizen Speakup,Bill Barton, UFIRE-Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement,Robert Wren, Gaylan Stewart and Merrill Cook, Utah Minuteman Project, Michael Sanchez and Citizens’ Council on Illegal Immigration, Jim Flohr.

These groups have worked together as a true coalition (the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration - UCOII). These are independent organizations that maintain their autonomy by a willingness to leave egos behind, roll up their sleeves, share ideas and collaborate in a roundtable setting, sometimes sharing the role of meeting facilitator. No single organization has dominated the coalition, in part because of the generous and unselfish styles which Gayle Ruzicka and Ron Mortensen as lead spokesman have cultivated and demonstrated. As a central facilitator of the meetings, Ron has fostered an attitude of giving credit to and sharing the media stage with the many individuals who have been involved, rather than all focus concentrated in one single personality or organization.

Before each legislative session, the groups have met to develop good legislation, to pinpoint possible bad legislation that may need opposition, to cultivate good relationships with state legislators, and to identify sponsors.

The Catalyst: Arizona 2010 Enforcement Law

When Arizona passed the enforcement law in 2010, Utah’s State Representative Steve Sandstrom opened the Utah file on a similar bill that summer. The Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration immediately backed him. UCOII has been able to count on several legislators who have served for several terms in support of good enforcement legislation along with Steve Sandstrom. Among them are members of the Patrick Henry Caucus: Margaret Dayton, Chris Herrod, Curt Oda, Ken Sumsion, Keith Grover, and Carl Wimmer. They were there to support each other and worked around the clock. Steve Sandstrom flew his plane to the border and met with Arizona legislators in preparation for Utah’s “Arizona-style bill.â€

By exposing the falsity of the ideas behind amnesty and presenting the veracity of the discussions for national sovereignty and security, the vast majority of Utahns recognized the paucity of the pseudo compassion argu-ment and joined the activists in opposing the Ridiculous Proposal.

Way to go Utah!

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FAMILIES Strong families are the foundation of successful communities. We oppose policies that unnecessarily separate families. We champion policies that support families and improve the health, education and well-being of all Utah children....

#1.They are not Citizen of United State why make excuse separate families. when they come here illegal and had children on false pretend they abused the 14th amendment the whole family can stay together what family leave their love one behind they all can go back were they come from what I"M hearing is weak poor excuse the plan is to take back what they believe was stolen from them all of this crap is a butch of BS...2012 we need to clean house...