Disobeying the Law puts dream in reach
Deseret News - My View
The article "Law puts dream in reach" (Deseret News, 6/3) presents a very rosy picture of the young lady now being able to obtain an education - at taxpayer’s expense. I congratulate her for her success and wish her good luck in her endeavors. It does appear, though, that the correct title for the article should be "Disobeying the Law puts dream in reach."

While her situation is certainly not her fault, as she was brought here illegally by her parents; the problem is not with this one individual but with the entire idea of granting group rights and thereby encouraging further disobedience to the law.

Some of the basic tenets of America are the "Rule of Law" and protection of individual rights. Granting special rights and rewards to groups of people for successfully disobeying a law, creates disrespect for ALL laws. Further disrespect for the law seems to have been displayed by the state of Utah, which apparently disregarded Federal Law (Title 8, Chapter 14, Sec. 1623) which states: "an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State ... for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit." Or perhaps, all Californians are now eligible for resident tuition?

Congressman Chris Cannon supports a law change to allow illegals resident tuition, reportedly on the basis of "States’ Rights." According to the Deseret News, Senator Hatch is not only attempting to change the federal law, but also grant citizenship to illegal aliens who graduate from high school.

In 1986, the United States granted a supposed, one-time "amnesty" to nearly 3 million illegal aliens residing in the America. Did this solve the problem? No, it merely granted hope to anyone who could illegally gain entry in the country in the future, who could stay long enough for the next amnesty. President Bush, prior to 9/11, was floating trial balloons for a similar amnesty and the will probably return.

While "Colorado Gov. Bill Owens signed into law a bill to ban state and local governments from recognizing the Mexican identification cards commonly used by immigrants," Utah Governor Mike Leavitt "fully supports honoring the Mexican ID. He also endorsed the recently implemented policy of permitting undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at Utah universities. (Colorado Governor) Owens, for his part, signed another bill banning such a tuition break." (Deseret News, 6/4)

What has happened to the Government’s protection of our borders and control of immigration? Utah's top immigration enforcer, Steve Branch, of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is quoted saying "We're not going to go pick up those (illegal) workers. We're not going to detain them or even put them in proceedings," (Deseret News 6/4) Public Safety Commissioner Robert Flowers indicates it’s not the responsibility of Utah State Troopers to check citizenship. Flowers says "I don't think it's possible to deport everyone who's in our country illegally. Do you?" Extrapolating that philosophy, someone may suggest that, because speeding is so rampant and uncontrollable, perhaps troopers should give out Happy Meals rather than tickets. (Rewarding the lawbreaker.)

Legal immigration is also a problem, changes in 1965 drastically increased legal immigration. Rep. Tancredo of Colorado has introduced a bill to cut annual legal immigration from 1 million a year to around 300,000 for five years. H.R. 946, the Mass Immigration Reduction Act of 2003, would cut several categories and eliminate chain migration of extended adult family members and the visa lottery. These reductions would be a major step toward stopping U.S. population growth projected to hit 420 million by 2050. (www.numbersusa.com)

IF we truly want to help "Utah's poster child for HB144" and, indeed, all of Mexico, perhaps we would contact the charitable interests in Utah to provide similarly situated individuals with tuition to a college in Mexico where they could use their language to more easily learn, and subsequent education to assist the advancement of the citizenry of Mexico.

Utahns, and Americans in general, are extremely charitable, helpful and friendly people. To an incredible extent, Americans are the benefactors to multitudes of the world’s poverty through private charity and tax supported government aid. Utahns will continue to treat those residing among us with respect, friendship and assistance, but it is one of the proper function of government to protect individual rights, which must include the defense of our borders against illegal intrusion.

Illegal immigrant "Amnesty" is a ‘slap in the face’ to all those who patiently try to obtain residence in the United States LEGALLY - of whom there are many! It is an affront to those who DID obey the law, followed the procedures and became citizens in the process. Or shall we tell all of our European friends and relatives to move here immediately because we now have free and open borders for everyone?

If my neighbor leaves the door to his home unlocked and a family moves into his living room, should the neighbor be responsible for feeding them and educating his children? The difference is only in the scope of the problem.

'Raids' not a priority of immigration officials
Deseret News
* * * With an estimated 75,000 illegal immigrants living in Utah, ICE isn't about to round up so much as a fraction, Branch said. Yet he often hears allegations that his agents are plotting "raids." Large-scale busts of undocumented workers "are not going to be the norm; there are too many of them," he said.
* * *
At immigration detention centers across the country, some 22,000 people are jailed on any given day, according to Branch. That's a tiny dent in the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Yet filling those detention centers is not his agents' top priority. Detaining one person costs about $50 a day; multiply that by 22,000 and "that's quite an expense to the taxpayers."


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