SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is working on a guest-worker pilot program in the state as a possible path toward immigration reform.
Shurtleff has met with local and state officials, lawmakers and lawyers to try to craft a proposal that would serve as an alternative to a new Arizona immigration law. Utah lawmakers next session are expected to consider immigration legislation similar to that passed in Arizona.
Shurtleff said he wants Utah to create a state immigration commission and work with the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon to send documented and tested workers from there to Utah.
"I do feel very strongly that those who are going to be opposed to the Arizona-style law have to have a counterproposal. Just saying 'no' isn't going to cut it," Shurtleff said. "Utah can take control of its immigration destiny by having a comprehensive plan in place that addresses things like employment and security."
The Arizona law requires that police conducting traffic stops or questioning people about possible legal violations ask them about their immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that they're in the country illegally. It takes effect July 29.
Shurtleff said Nuevo Leon tests prospective workers, grouping them based on their skills and thus making it easy to put them in jobs. Shurtleff has spoken with Nuevo Leon's consul general and other officials.
Three Utah lawmakers this week were planning to travel to Arizona to learn about immigration issues. They include Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, who has said he plans to introduce a bill modeled after the Arizona measure.
Shurtleff opposes Arizona's law, saying it can lead to the second-guessing of officers, profiling of suspects and can discourage undocumented immigrants from working with law enforcement.
"It puts cops in an absolutely untenable position, where they have to decide, 'Do I ask this person for identification?"' Shurtleff said. "Even though the law says you can't consider race, what else are you going to consider?"
Shurtleff met Monday with Sutherland Institute President Paul Mero. The conservative think tank is proposing a Utah work privilege card that would allow undocumented immigrants to work legally in the state.
The card would let immigrants know they "can come to the surface of society freely," Mero said. "We can't make you citizens, but we can create an expectation to act like citizens and be responsible members of the community."
And state Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, said he has talked with Shurtleff about working on a different approach to immigration that would include giving the state more authority.
"More reliance on the federal government is not the answer," Dougall said. "We need a state solution and a uniquely Utah approach."
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
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