Utah conservatives focus on illegal immigration, note issues in finding comprehensive fix

LAYTON — A contingent of Republican leaders from Utah gathered Monday to parse the complex immigration issue, recognizing the varied problems that come from illegal immigration and lauding President Donald Trump's focus on the topic.

Still, a comprehensive solution may not be in the offing anytime soon.

Jamie Renda, of Path Forward Utah, said resolving the issue can't be solely the duty of elected lawmakers, which spurred her efforts to organize the event. Monday's forum is the first of three for her Ogden-based organization, which promotes conservative voices and viewpoints within minority communities, plans to foster debate on the topic. "We need to take ownership of helping our neighbors find those solutions and have the difficult conversations to move forward," said Renda.

Potential fixes to tackle the immigration issue, she said, will be the focus of future forums, though Monday's participants — who included U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy and Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz — broached possibilities, notably the need for federal officials to take action.

Kennedy, a Republican and Utah's 3rd District congressman, said there's no lack of ideas to help resolve the immigration issue, long a focus of debate among U.S. lawmakers, just a lack of political will. He also pointed to insufficient efforts by some immigrants to remedy their situations.

There are plenty of potential solutions to allow "contributing" immigrants to "come out of the shadows," he said. "But I need Democrats and Republican colleagues to help me with that. And at this point, it still continues to be a political football with unwilling participants on both sides to actually do something about this."

Meantime, he voiced support for increased moves under the Trump administration to detain and deport immigrants here illegally, particularly those with criminal backgrounds. Asked about detention and deportation of immigrants here illegally who otherwise abide by the law — which has prompted an outcry from some critics — he said the onus is on them to seek a means to remain legally.

"I know we all benefit from a lot of these people, but the reality is they've had sometimes years, if not decades, to go through some legal process and at least try," said Kennedy, a Republican who represents Utah's 3rd District. If an immigrant has lived here for many years "and never done anything to formalize your status, it's final exam time, and you may find yourself being deported."

Schultz, a Republican from Hooper, favors moves to improve the immigration system but pointed to federal lawmakers as the sticking point.

"If you want to come to the United States of America and you're willing to work, you're willing to put forth the effort, then there needs to be a pathway," Schultz said. "For whatever reason, Congress has not come together and created a pathway to citizenship, and so what you're having is the cartels step forward, find ways to sneak people across the border."

U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, who also took part, made the case for passage of House Resolution 2 as proposed in 2023 to address the immigration issue. Even if some elements would potentially have to be removed to get enough votes for passage, it would be a start. The multipronged proposal, sponsored by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, addresses border security, hiring of immigrants and more.

"I'll take whatever percentage of HR2 that I can get done, and we'll keep working on the rest," Moore said.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political group, helped sponsor the event, and Kevin Greene, director of the group's Utah chapter, said moves by the Trump administration to secure the border allow for forward movement on the issue. The forum, also co-hosted by Weber State University's Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics and Public Service, was held at the college's campus in Layton.

With the strides under Trump in halting illegal crossings into the country via the U.S.-Mexico border, "we can have a conversation on what we do to fix the system as is," Greene said. "How do we make it so people who want to come here can come here legally, not wait 10, 15, 20, 30 years?"

Heightened efforts under Trump to detain and deport immigrants here illegally — a point of public debate nationwide — was a central talking point as well, with broad support from many of those on hand for the president's efforts. Numerous Republican members of the Utah Legislature attended, as well as some local elected officials and others.

"The border is secure," Kennedy said, referencing increased border enforcement and other actions by Trump. "The next step is legal immigration."

Renda noted the complexity of the issue, underscored by the need of some labor sectors for immigrant labor, and also stressed the need "to take race out of this conversation." While critics may rail against the ongoing immigration crackdown as "racist" given the ethnicity of many facing deportation, she said about three-quarters of immigrants in the country illegally are Latinos and called for understanding of "the dynamics of who's here."

While the focus of Monday's discussion was on halting illegal entry of immigrants, several speakers acknowledged the role immigrants play in supplying the U.S. workforce. Luis Lopez, for one, a former member of the Ogden City Council and founder of the Ogden branch of Latinos United Promoting Education and Civic Engagement, a Latino advocacy group, said the "vast majority" of immigrants in the country are "good, hardworking people."

Himself a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Mexico, Lopez, a member of the audience, said he favors efforts to remove criminal immigrants in the country illegally, but bristles at the use of the word "illegals" as an all-encompassing word for immigrants.

"Calling people illegal and referring to people as illegal is very demeaning," he said.

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