Two Utah narratives on immigration

Les Roka, editor of The Selective Echo and writer for The Utah Review, wrote this commentary:

Recently, KCPW-FM’s Roger McDonough interviewed Mark Alvarez about the status of immigration reform for the half-hour public affairs show ‘The Rundown.’ Often, Mark speaks about the issue in Spanish-language media, but ‘The Rundown’ was an ideal platform to discuss the issue not only in English but also within the contexts of national policy and Utah politics. Likewise, Mark contributed numerous posts about immigration to The Selective Echo, some of which have been collected in a Kindle e-book entitled, ‘Becoming America: Selected readings on immigration from The Selective Echo.’

Mark’s voice on immigration is one that, unfortunately, has been ignored all too frequently by the state’s policy and power community. Every issue discussion should take into account discrete systemic, societal and individual challenges that always should guide socially responsible and ethical conversation and debate. However, in Utah, the predominant political party (the Republicans) and the predominant religion (Mormons) persistently have ignored or belittled the ideals of what truly effective reform would be. More disturbingly, they have crafted empty self-serving PR narratives. As someone who has worked and studied in media for more than 30 years, I have seen the Mormon-owned media unabashedly enabling these dishonest efforts.

First, a group of LDS politicians and lobbyists plagiarized in part and Mormonized the sincere ideals articulated in the 2009 Enriching Utah Coalition values statement. Their result, published in November 2010, was the derivative Utah Compact – merely a document of political convenience for Republicans and the LDS Church.

Second, despite paying lip service to federal Constitutional authority over immigration, Utah political and economic leaders pushed the so-called “Utah Solution.” Legislators and the governor repeatedly ignored warnings about unconstitutionality from legislative attorneys. On July 1, 2010, on the Pulso Latino radio show co-hosted by Tony Yapias and Mark Alvarez, Governor Gary Herbert said, “smart people like you [Mark] will make this [Utah Solution] work.” Herbert ultimately relied on then-Attorney General Mark Shurtleff – a complete failure of rigor. The result was unconstitutional laws, one of which is tied up in court and another that has been delayed three times, most recently until July 2017, to avoid embarrassing defeat in court. During the 2014 legislative session, Utah State Senator Curt Bramble, a key backer of the Utah Solution, acknowledged the law’s practical and legal problems.

The interview covers much ground – ranging from the current stalemate in Congress over a bill that passed the U.S. Senate in June 2013 to the recent discussion about deportation numbers and the options the President has in advancing reform should the U.S. House of Representatives fail to act. Mark and Roger also talk about the failure of Utah’s leaders in the GOP and LDS communities to advocate honestly for reform, along with the deeply-rooted flaws in the Utah scheme.

In Utah, there are two general narratives about immigration reform. One is based on equivocation, a deliberate misappropriation of facts and earnestly-stated values, and of PR optics for the sake of political ambition and power. The other, which I believe Mark and Roger reflect accurately in this interview, arises from a careful consideration of facts, ethics, and values, especially in terms of how we proceed in crafting humane, compassionate and constitutional immigration policy.

I encourage you to listen.

KCPW: The Rundown: Congressional Inaction on Immigration and Ramifications for Utah