Utah Gov. Fires Back at Congressional Critics of State Immigration Law:

By Elizabeth Llorente

Published April 21, 2011

Fox News Latino

Two Republicans who hold leadership positions on congressional committees that deal with U.S. immigration matters say Utah should be penalized for approving a program that would allow undocumented immigrants to legally work in the state.

That has prompted Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, also a Republican, to fire back that Congress should focus on fixing the problematic immigration system and stop wasting its time taking shots at Utah.

Utah supporters of the guest worker provision, part of a larger immigration law, are hoping to get a waiver for it from the federal government, which prohibits the hiring of undocumented immigrants.

This week, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, the Texas congressman who heads the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to sue Utah for approving a program he says is unconstitutional.

Smith, a Republican who favors strict immigration policies, said that it is “hypocriticalâ€