1st Govenor John Huntsman

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Guv says he opposes bill to repeal tuition breaks


Bill would repeal law that lets undocumented Utah college students pay in-state rates
By Jennifer Sanchez
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/15/2008 01:32:30 AM MST


Gov.Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday that he is opposed to a bill that wouldrepeal in-state college tuition for undocumented students and hopesCongress comes up with an immigration solution next year.
"I have a very hard time saying you punish the kids ofimmigrants who had no say over their journey in life," he said duringan interview. "And we say, 'OK, we're going to deprive people of theAmerican dream.' "
For the first time in five years, HB241 passed in the Housethis week and is waiting to be heard in the Senate. The bill, sponsoredby Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, would repeal a law that allowsundocumented students who graduate from a Utah high school to payin-state college tuition. Some 280 students used the law in 2006-2007.
"The whole debate fails to articulate properly that the kids have earned the right, even though they're here with a differentstatus," Huntsman said. "The only way they're going to move on and makea contribution and make their dreams come true in this state is throughthe great leveler: higher education."
At the Capitol on Thursday, Utahns for the American Dream,which represents some 30 businesses, churches and groups, held a newsconference to announce that they delivered a letter and DVD inopposition of HB241 to each senator. The documentary DVD shares thestories of undocumented students who grew up in Utah and are in collegeor have hopes of going.
HB241 opponents say students may lose hope if college is not anoption, and that could, in turn, increase the rates of teen pregnancy,welfare and domestic violence.
"What we do now can prevent so much negative impact in ourcities," said Rosanita Cespedes, a Utah Board of Regents member.
jsanchez@sltrib.com

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8268713


The LDS church.


Debate resumes over illegal immigrants' status in LDS Church
Some question granting of temple rights, baptism
By Dennis Romboy
Deseret Morning News
Published: February 15, 2008


Comments made by an LDS Church leader this week again stirred debate in Mormon circles about whether the church should baptize illegal immigrants or allow them to enter its temples.
"The church's view of someone in undocumented status is akin, in a way, to a civil trespass," said Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy, relating it to coming onto someone's property uninvited. "There is nothing inherent or wrong about that status."

Elder Jensen's comment came Wednesday during an interfaith forum on immigration at Westminster College in response to an audience question.

The LDS Church has no official policy on illegal immigration nor does it ask local clergy to question prospective converts or members seeking temple privileges about their citizenship status.

"The church does not see itself as an enforcement agency," Mark Tuttle, a spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Thursday, repeating earlier church statements.

That doesn't sit well with some Latter-day Saints who wonder why the church baptizes people and issues temple recommends to members who live in the country illegally. To qualify for a recommend, they must avow to a bishop and a stake president that they are honest in their dealings with others.

Some members can't reconcile church membership and illegal status, particularly in light of one of the church's Articles of Faith that states, "We believe ... in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law."

"I wonder how they'd feel about the second great commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself. It's not an answer to your question, but it's another question. Sometimes it's hard to do them all," Tuttle said.

Discussion about how local church leaders deal with undocumented immigrants arose on the heels of remarks Elder Jensen made earlier this week.

Speaking on behalf of the First Presidency at the interfaith forum, Elder Jensen asked Utah lawmakers to consider proposed immigration legislation with a "spirit of compassion." He called for a more "thoughtful and factual, not to mention humane, approach" to the issues.

The Legislature is debating a string of get-tough-on-illegal-immigration bills including measures to revoke driver privilege cards and repeal in-state tuition options at state colleges and universities.

While reiterating the LDS Church is politically neutral, Elder Jensen noted that immigration is not only a political issue but a moral and ethical one.

Addressing the matter of baptism and temple rights for undocumented immigrants, Elder John C. Pingree, an Area Seventy, told the Deseret Morning News in 2005, "It's not a problem for me."

Questions about citizenship are not part of the formal interview local leaders conduct with people before they join the church or attend the temple, which is open only to members deemed worthy. Bishops and stake presidents look for commitment to live the tenets of the religion, he said.

Enforcing immigration law is not the role of the church, said Elder Pingree, who served as a mission president in Mexico City.

"This isn't the church's issue," he said. "This is the government's issue."

The October 2005 interview with Elder Pingree came in response to a Morning News request to the LDS Church to speak with a leader about the church's stance on illegal immigration.

His comments were included in a story headlined, "Church chooses to stay out of questions of status," which was part of a Morning News series on illegal immigration.

The church, Elder Pingree said, does everything it can to encourage its members to stay in their home countries to strengthen local stakes and wards. "But once they're here, we want to make them feel like part of the community, a valued part of the community," he said.

Tuttle said Thursday that statements Elder Pingree made then remain accurate.

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