Mediaboss Marketing

(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Hill, government liaison for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, is joined by other area business leaders as she talks during a rally calling for Congress to enact immigration reform. The group of leaders held a press conference at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City, one of six press conferences happening at the same time in six Western states Tuesday, May 13, 2014.

Many immigration-reform rallies have crowds of immigrants pleading for a path to citizenship. A rally Tuesday at the State Capitol presented a different view, featuring business executives, some big-name politicians, top clergy and law-enforcement officers.

But their message was the same: Congress should pass reform this summer, and it should include "creating a road to lawful status and citizenship" for undocumented immigrants.

"For too long, Congress has kicked the immigration can down the road," said Lane Beattie, president of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. "This is the time to act on immigration reform, not next year or after the next election."

Similar rallies Tuesday in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico urged House members from Rocky Mountain states to act on Senate-passed reform, and use solutions from the region to guide debate including the "Utah Compact" for civil dialogue, keeping families together and recognizing immigrants economic role.

"If conservatives would just reflect on those principles within the Utah Compact, they would be much more comfortable at handling comprehensive immigration reform," said Paul Mero, president of the conservative Sutherland Institute.

In Washington, President Barack Obama met with law-enforcement officials including former Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard, now executive director of the National Sheriffs Association and Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires to talk pressing for congressional action on immigration reform.

Speakers at the Utah rally spoke about how reform is needed to increase legal immigration quotas that local high-tech companies need to bring in talent; calm tension that worries police; and fulfill a moral obligation to help families.

"We have a serious talent shortage here in the state" among high-tech companies," said Richard Nelson, President & CEO of the Utah Technology Council. "Literally thousands of open positions are going unfilled in the range of $40,000 to $140,000 per job."

He said that make it difficult for local companies to expand and create more jobs. Todd Bingham, president of the Utah Manufacturers Association, made a similar argument.

See the article here:
Utah leaders urge federal immigration reform