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With much of the country looking on, Utah's Senate pushed forward with sweeping immigration reform after a marathon day of debate on Thursday.
Sen. Bill Hickman, who is sponsoring the omnibus bill, had legal counsel at his side as he stood most of the day with a proverbial target on his chest.
The bill would do everything from punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants to requiring sheriff's departments to discover and record the nationality of inmates and take appropriate action.
Questions flung by his colleagues ranged from whether such a massive bill was simply done too hastily, to excruciatingly detailed queries on who can produce identification documents that are security-sensitive.
"I think the important thing to recognize ... is the citizens of this state, based on the latest polling, are overwhelmingly concerned on this issue and want action taken," Hickman said. "We as a state have been charged with the responsibility of addressing the issue."
The sentiment was felt by most in the Senate, which passed the bill to its third reading calendar 21-8.
The eight who opposed did so with the argument that rushing important immigration reform while taking deliberate and lengthy steps on health care reform seemed hypocritical. A major effort was made in the early afternoon to amend the bill so it wouldn't go into effect until July 1, 2009, allowing an upcoming task force to study the issue and make necessary tweaks.
"This bill has not had proper study," said Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, who added that similar reform in other states is having unintended consequences. "They are now feeling economic pressure and difficulty with the passage of such broad immigration bills."
Hickman has made several significant changes to the bill on the recommendation of religious and business leaders, and maintained that now is the time. He was backed Thursday by the likes of Sen. Darin Peterson, R-Nephi.
Peterson said that despite the likely backlash from dairymen and others in the agriculture community that he serves, it's time to act.
"Sometimes you have to say, special interests aside, you have to do something."
The delaying amendment was defeated 15-12.
Sen. Jon Greiner, R-Ogden and the son of a naturalized citizen, compared immigration to a poison tree now bearing pestiferous fruit. Education, health care and law enforcement have all been dramatically impacted, he said.
"The wink and nod has gone on too long," he said of the government's inaction.
The debate dragged on so long and the bill has faced so many changes since its inception -- it has been amended eight times -- that even veteran senators got turned around.
Several times throughout the day, long-winded questions were answered with the statement that the particular point had been amended or taken out in previous versions.
The bill will be heard one more time in the Senate before passing on to the House for consideration. With it will likely be four other "minor" immigration bills, including two resolutions.
Senate Bill 81, Illegal Immigration
Sponsor: Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George
This bill deals with provisions related to the immigration status of individuals within the state. |
