Utah women travel to Washington to lobby for immigrants and against steep spending cuts

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Two Utah women traveled to Washington to lobby against spending cuts to create new funding for mass deportations.
Linda Stone and Melanie Call were among 50 or so MomsRising representatives advocating for Medicaid and SNAP funding retention amid the spending deliberations.
They also defended the contributions of immigrants in the country as part of their message.

WASHINGTON — Two Utah women joined a contingent of immigrant advocates in the nation's capital this week to press lawmakers to hold off on moves to bolster spending for deportations via spending cuts to Medicaid and other programs.

"They are taking billions of dollars from programs like Medicaid (and) SNAP to fund more mass deportations," said Linda Stone, senior director with MomsRising and a Herriman resident. "We need that money for those programs that are essential for all families. We do not agree that this money is used for family separation and mass deportations."

Stone traveled to Washington, D.C., with Melanie Call, of Sandy, and a contingent of about 50 other MomsRising leaders and volunteers from across the country for meetings with lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday. Lawmakers are in the midst of drafting a tax bill pushed by President Donald Trump that contains a mix of tax cuts, spending cuts and beefed-up spending to tackle illegal immigration, according to the Associated Press.

Stone met Wednesday with representatives from the offices of Sen. Mike Lee and Sen. John Curtis, Utah's two senators, both Republicans, and other U.S. senators. Other representatives from MomsRising — a national nonprofit group that advocates for equal pay for women, continued funding of Medicaid and other issues pertinent to mothers — met with others.

She's grateful for the meetings, Stone said by phone from Washington, but the officials didn't offer any inkling of their reaction to her message. Lee proposes reform to the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps, entailing increased state funding of the program to offset the federal share. Such a change, the Urban Institute says, could lead to a loss of benefits in a recession.

The lawmakers' staffers were friendly, "but I haven't heard anything else," Stone said. "They haven't said anything else." MomsRising prepared a "storybook" focused on the contributions of immigrants to the healthcare workforce that group reps distributed to lawmakers.

While a key focus of MomsRising is protecting immigrant families, cuts to food stamp funding or Medicaid, the federal health care insurance program for low-income people, could adversely impact a broader pool of families who rely on the program.

"This is not just about immigrant families; this is about all families. By taking this money from these important programs, those who are supporting this budget will be hurting ... many families," she said. "We're talking about taking millions of dollars that will be taken to fund mass deportations."

Stone took part in a press conference last week at the Utah Capitol, organized by immigrant advocates to voice support for the immigrant population amid the crackdown on illegal immigration pushed by the Trump administration. She reiterated her defense of the population.

MomsRising volunteer Melanie Call of Sandy, center, sits with fellow group members Clara Vazquez of Washington state, left, and Ruth Horry of New Jersey in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Photo: Linda Stone, MomsRising)

Most crime in the country is committed by native-born Americans, not immigrants, while even immigrants in Utah illegally contribute taxes to the state economy, she said. A report from Voices for Utah Children, which helped organize last week's press conference, estimates there are 89,000 to 110,000 immigrants in Utah illegally, citing American Immigration Council data. Those in the state illegally paid an estimated $235.1 million in state and local taxes in 2022, according to the estimates.

"Immigrants are here to contribute to their communities and to the economy. There are other solutions that we can do to help those who are not documented to have access to work authorization," she said.

Deliberations on the spending and tax cuts sought by Trump were to have been discussed in congressional committees this week but were put off to next week, Stone said. The AP reported Thursday, however, that some centrist GOPers in the U.S. House are leery of steep cuts to Medicaid.

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