Column on Illegal Immigration

Below is an op ed piece I have written on illegal immigration:

Stop Illegal Immigration
By Don Guymon
In the 2008 Legislative Session, both chambers passed S.B. 81 an omnibus illegal immigration bill. The bill had several good measures to curb illegal immigration. Unfortunately both chambers put off implementation until 2009 so further research can be done on illegal immigration.

It is surprising that individuals would feel the need to study the issue of illegal immigration further. Why do we need to wait a year when this has been studied for many years? Is not the fact that individual here illegally enough?

S.B. 81 would require county sheriffs to verify the immigration status of foreign nationals; prohibited the alcoholic beverage control commission from granting liquor or private club licenses to individuals who are not in the country illegally; prohibits local entities from keeping their law enforcement officers from enforcing immigration laws and requires employers who contract with the state to verify whether their workers are legal to work in the United States.

This bill was pretty straightforward, so why do we need to study it further?

It was not just that implementation of S.B. 81 was put off until 2009. Several other good bills died. Bills that would have prohibited illegal immigrants from receiving instate tuition and stopped the issuance of driver privilege cards died and not for the first time.

Many say that the issue of illegal immigration is a federal issue and the state should not deal with it. Yes it is a federal issue. At a time when we are fighting a war on terror, it makes little sense that our borders are not under control.

But the state also has a role to play.

If the state is providing driver privilege cards to those who are here illegally, is not the state aiding and abetting and abiding the breaking of federal law?

If the state is giving preferential treatment to the children of illegal immigrants over students from other states who want to study at public schools, is the state not aiding and abetting the breaking of federal law?

Many argue that these are good men and women simply here to make a better life for their family. Good intentions aside, good people do not break the law.

For example MSNBC recently reported that nine million people had inaccurate social security taxes. While some of these may be mistaken, many are because of illegal aliens stealing people’s identification.

The recent raid of illegal immigrants at Swift Meatpacking plants found over 1,200 individuals arrested for identity theft.

Illegal immigration is an issue that our lawmakers are going to have to deal with whether they like it or not.

During the impeachment of President Clinton, we heard that this must happen because we as a nation believed in the rule of law. If we are still a nation that believes in the rule of law, we can begin by insuring that all individuals arrive in this country legally

The failure of lawmakers to enact S.B. 81 in 2008 shows that many do not take the problem of illegal immigration seriously. Legal citizens will continue to have crowded classrooms, higher health care, and the inconvenience of having to restore their identity because this problem will continue.

If citizens do not stay vigilant, S.B. 81 will be gutted during the 2009 session, and Utah will continue to do very little to curb this growing epidemic.