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SALT LAKE CITY One Utah lawmaker borrowed part of a President Donald Trump campaign quote Tuesday as he advocated for immigration reform, saying Congress needs to build a door into its immigration policy.

Members of Utah's faith and business community joined with state lawmakers to call upon Congress to promote immigration reform. Over a dozen speakers from various backgrounds shared their experiences hiring and working with immigrants, and stressed the difficulties of doing business with a workforce that is growing concerned about its place in the country.

The speakers organized with New American Economy, an organization promoting the economic contributions of immigrants. They cited recent immigration and workforce figures to demonstrate immigrants' contributions to the nation's economy.

Rep. Mike Winder, R-West Valley City, advocated for entrepreneurial involvement by immigrants to the U.S. and said immigrants bring $4 billion in spending power to the state of Utah.

"President Donald Trump, in the recent campaign, talked about building a wall. You may have heard of it," Winder said. "But he also talked about a big beautiful door in that wall."

He made note of the broad involvement of immigrants in the country, from agricultural workers to Nobel Prize laureates.

Winder was joined by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, and Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, as they discussed Utah's involvement in immigration programs.

Stephenson cited Utah's early adoption of the DREAM Act, which allows undocumented children to attend colleges with in-state tuition, as one example of Utah's efforts in assisting immigrant needs. He also cited Utah's dual-language immersion program as another method that has helped immigrant students and families adjust to life in the state.

Weiler made note of the nearly 70,000 immigrants in his congressional district who make up around 10 percent of the area's population and who contributed about $115 million in state and local taxes and $224 million in federal taxes in 2015.

"Immigrants are innovators who really help drive our economy forward," he said.

Steven Klemz, a pastor for the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, discussed his concerns over members of his congregation expressing fears about deportation.

"One proprietor, because of the fear in this country, is closing down his business. He has asked that if they get detained or deported, I take his two children to Mexico," the pastor said.

A number of speakers stressed support for reforming immigration policies, ahead of concerns about Trump's proposal to build a wall along the southern border of the country.

Jorge Dennis, the CEO of EnviroKleen and a member of Utah's Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, supports what he says is a moderate and centered approach.

"The issue of immigration has been used by both parties as a partisan weapon to throw back and forth for reasons of their advantage," Dennis said, adding that the entry system for the country needs to be updated to allow people to more easily work within the country.

"We must come up with a system that will allow for these good people to come out of the shadows and continue to make positive impacts in our communities but also to vet out those who would seek to do us harm," he said.

A number of business leaders shared their hopes for work visa reforms to better staff their businesses.

Melva Sine, CEO of the Utah Restaurant Association, said many visa workers are able to contribute to the business industry but encounter problems when they have to renew visas, and face anxieties about fears of deportation.

"Im hoping that this big beautiful door that we are referring to becomes a big beautiful revolving door," she said.

Jake Harward, owner of Harward Farms, said the H2A visa program for temporary agricultural workers is one program needing reform.

"The H2A program is very cumbersome, very expensive. It takes a long time to get my workers here by the month of May. I have to start my process in December," Harward said.

He said hiring his summertime workforce is a process that could be streamlined to the benefit of local farmers.

Excerpt from:
Utah leaders call for immigration reform, cite contributions of immigrants - Deseret News

The Department of Homeland Security has begun rolling out President Donald Trump's plans for a wider crackdown on people coming into the United States illegally. Here they are. USA TODAY NETWORK

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain a suspect during an enforcement operation on Feb. 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.(Photo: Charles Reed, AFP/Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security issued a sweeping set of orders Tuesday that implement President Trump's plan to increase immigration enforcement, placingthe vast majority of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation.

The memosinstruct all agents includingCustoms and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify, capture and quickly deport everyundocumented immigrantthey encounter.

The memos requireundocumented immigrants caught entering the country to be placed in detention until their cases are resolved, increasethe ability of local police to help in immigration enforcement, call for the hiring of 10,000 more immigration agents and allowplanning to begin on an expansion of the border wall between the United States and Mexico.

The memos make undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a crime the highest priority for enforcement operations. But they make clear that ICE agents should also arrest and initiate deportation proceedings against any other undocumented immigrant they encounter.

"Department personnel have full authority to arrest or apprehend an alien whom an immigration officers has probable cause to believe is in violation of the immigration laws," one memo said. "They also have full authority to initiate removal proceedings against any alien who is subject to removal under any provision of the (Immigration and Nationality Act)."

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the memos do not represent a goal of mass deportations.

"Everybody who is here illegally is subject to removal at any time. That is consistent with every country, not just ours," Spicer said. "But the priority that the president has laid forward (are) the people who have committed a crime or pose a threat to our public."

The memosfulfill Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration. Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates for lower levels of legal and illegal immigration, said the memos capture many recommendations his group has been making for years.

"It's Christmas in February," Stein said. "What (Homeland Security Secretary John)Kelly has done is lay out a broad road map of regaining control of a process that's spun out of control."

Immigration advocacy groups were crushed.Although Trump recently said his focus would be todeportundocumented immigrants with criminal histories or who pose a threat to national security, the new memos make clear that nearly all undocumented immigrants are at risk.

"These memos lay out a detailed blueprint for the mass deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants in America," said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of America's Voice Educational Fund, which advocates on behalf of immigrants. "They fulfill the wish lists of the white nationalist and anti-immigrant movements and bring to life the worst of Donald Trump's campaign rhetoric."

Miami-Dade commission votes to end county's 'sanctuary' status

Immigration 101: The legal paths to entering the U.S.

One group appears to be spared for now. Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensensaid Tuesday that deportation protections granted by President Obama in 2012 to undocumented immigrantsbrought to the country as children will continue to behonored so long as those immigrantsabide by the rules of theprogram.

Morethan 750,000 undocumented immigrants have been granted deportation protections under that program, known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA).

The orders also detail a broad plan to keep undocumented immigrants caught crossing the southwest border from making it to the interior of the U.S.They call for detaining all of them until their cases are resolved.

Currently, many undocumented immigrants are processed by immigration agents, released into the country and ordered to reappear for court hearings. The memos seek to end that practice, known as catch and release, by ordering the construction of more jails along the southwest border to house detained immigrantsuntil their cases are resolved.

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The new directives also allow Customs agentsto send some people directly back to Mexico, whether theyre Mexican or not. Under previous administrations, people from Mexico and Canadacould be deported directly back home. But people from all other countries, such as from Central America, had to be detained until they could be flown back to their country of origin.

The memos do not mention the idea of using National Guard troops along the southwest border, as reported by several media outlets last week.

On the campaign trail, Trump regularly highlighted crimes committed by undocumented crimes and embraced the families of the victims of those crimes. Now, there will be a permanent office within ICE to carry on that message.

The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office, or VOICE, establishes a process to keep victims and their families informed about the status of criminal cases against the undocumented immigrants and any followup deportation proceedings.The new orderseliminateprotections that had been granted to undocumented immigrants under the federal Privacy Act, meaning ICE will now publicly distribute information about thesecases.

"I direct the Director of ICE to immediately reallocate any and all resources that are currently used to advocate on behalf of illegal aliens ... to the new VOICE Office," Kelly wrote in onedirective.

Contributing: David Jackson

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Homeland Security unveils sweeping plan to deport undocumented immigrants - USA TODAY

According to a new poll byHarvardHarris Poll given to The Hill has discovered that Americans overwhelmingly oppose sanctuary cities.

The poll states that a whopping 80 percent of voters believe that local law enforcement should comply with Federal immigration laws, and immigration enforcement agents. Furthermore, Americans believe that our immigrations laws need an overhaul, and that criminals need to be deported.

The HarvardHarris Poll survey found strong support for an overhaul of the nations immigration laws, with 77 percent saying they support comprehensive immigration reform against only 23 percent who oppose.

While there is broad support for comprehensive immigration reform, there is overwhelming opposition to sanctuary cities, said HarvardHarris co-director Mark Penn. The public wants honest immigrants treated fairly and those who commit crimes deported and thats very clear from the data.

Whats more, the majority of Americans seem to approve of Trumps plans for more security on our southern border, including punishing cities that harbor illegal aliens.

A majority 52 percent say they support Trumps two executive orders allowing for the construction of a southern border wall, increasing the number of immigration officers by 10,000 and finding a way to revoke federal funds for sanctuary cities.

The crackdown on sanctuary cities is the most popular feature of those actions, followed closely by the directive to increase the border patrol, which is backed by 75 percent of voters.

Despite a very loud opposition to Trumps executive order that paused immigration from high risk countries, it would appear that the poll finds that 56 percentof Americans approve of it until a more reliable vetting system is in place. This approval jumps up to 60 percent when the countries Trump has paused immigration from are described as Muslim majority countries.

Finally, it would appear that when it comes to refugees, the majority of Americans believe that so much of it from these countries has a negative effect on the United States.

Forty-seven percent said allowing refugees into the country has a negative impact on the nation, compared to only 33 percent who said it has a positive effect.

When voters are told that the U.S. is slated to receive 100,000 Syrian refugees, 51 percent said that number should be lower, 34 percent said it is an appropriate number, and 15 percent said the U.S. should allow more.

Americans support both comprehensive immigration reform and stronger vetting and reduced refugees they want a mix of compassion, strong borders, said Penn. They see ISIS as the greatest threat to the country and that is spurring concerns about refugee migration.

Interestingly enough, this survey had a majority of its 2,148 participants identifying as Democrat than Republican, 39 to 30 percent respectively.

See more here:
Poll: A good majority of Americans oppose sanctuary cities, and support Trump's immigration efforts - TheBlaze.com

Immigrants around the mouth of the Columbia River and their employers are expressing increasing anxiety about Trump administration rhetoric on deportations. Its important to place these worries in context, separating truth from myth as the nation feels its way forward toward a new equilibrium on this most fraught of issues.

Some Northwest coastal industries are more reliant than others on immigrant workers. But its fair to say first-generation Americans documented and undocumented are widely dispersed within our economy. Agriculture, shellfish and the hospitality sector particularly depend on hardworking immigrants. In some instances, these jobs pay considerably better than minimum wage, but have undesirable hours or working conditions that dont appeal to native-born Americans with wider options.

While there are few indications that last Thursdays A Day Without Immigrants jobs walk-off resulted in serious business disruptions in the Columbia-Pacific counties, theres no doubt that permanent removal of these workers and their families would have serious negative impacts.

Is there reason to be concerned about such a disruption?

Rumors to the contrary, there has so far been little match between the intensity of President Donald Trumps anti-immigrant language and on-the-ground actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. For example, in the week of Feb. 5-11, ICE says it arrested 680 individuals in targeted enforcement operations. None of these publicized arrests occurred in Oregon, Washington state or elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. (There may have been other minor arrests here that ICE doesnt consider to be a community arrest, the kind of large-scale bust that creates a corresponding level of hard feelings.)

The 680 number is remarkably consistent with the number of such arrests made in President Barack Obamas first year in office 675 a week. However, Trumps order targets even those who violated a misdemeanor law against crossing the border illegally, while Obama focused on immigrants convicted of serious crimes, those considered threats to national security, and recent arrivals.

Its possible to believe the U.S. should regulate who comes in and stays here, and yet also believe it would be inhumane and economically self-sabotaging to kick out productive immigrants who hold down jobs and raise kids here. Pragmatically, low-population counties like ours lack the excess workforce to fill the vacancies that would be created by wholesale deportations. Even with its undocumented immigrants, Clatsop County has close to full employment.

There has to be a middle course.

Level-headed Republican and Democratic U.S. senators developed such a compromise years ago a path to normalization for immigrants committed to decent, long-term lives here. Its time for the nations business leaders to press our businessman president to recognize the reality of this situation. We must find ways to address labor needs while making sure we know and control who enters the country.

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Immigration reform remains necessary - Daily Astorian

The Partnership for a New American Economy advocacy group is led by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. | Getty

The issue of immigration is as contentious as ever, with President Donald Trumps travel ban causing international chaos before it was halted by the courts and a new wave of immigration raids descending in communities nationwide.

But during this weeks congressional recess, pro-reform forces are nonetheless launching a massive and elaborate push to stir up public support for a comprehensive immigration overhaul.

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The Partnership for a New American Economy, the advocacy group led by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has recruited a number of congressional Republicans and Democrats to headline events promoting immigration across the country. During those events which range from roundtables to farm tours the group and lawmakers will promote new information compiled by the Partnership for all 435 congressional districts, 50 states and the 60 largest U.S. cities that details the impact of immigration in each area.

Some are well-known proponents of immigration reform, such as Florida Republican Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Carlos Curbelo. But the Bloomberg group has also brought on a number of GOP lawmakers who havent so far been marquee names in the immigration battle, including several from agriculture-heavy states: Oklahoma Reps. Frank Lucas and Steve Russell, and Georgia Reps. Doug Collins, Austin Scott and Drew Ferguson.

The Partnership has even enlisted supporters of Trump who stridently took hardline stances on immigration during his campaign for the White House to back their efforts: Irma Aguirre, a Nevada business owner and member of Latinos for Trump, and Mario Rodriguez, who sits on Trumps Hispanic Advisory Council.

"Immigration is top of the agenda politically, but the national discussion often bears little resemblance to the facts on the ground, said Jeremy Robbins, the groups executive director. In community after community and industry after industry, immigration is helping America and American workers."

About 100 events will be held nationwide during recess, primarily in conservative and swing districts and states, according to the group. Also participating will be local farm bureaus and chambers of commerce.

In conjunction with the new push, the Partnership is doing an ad blitz promoting immigration reform that will air inside cabs and digitally in cities such as Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas and Miami.

There are few legislative avenues for immigration this year, although the Trump administration intends to send a supplemental bill to Congress later this year to authorize construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Key senators have also prepared legislation in case Trump revokes the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants deportation deferral and work permits to immigrants brought to the United States illegally at a young age.

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Bloomberg-backed group launches new immigration push under Trump - Politico