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Utah Business, Civic Leaders Join National Immigration Reform Group

New American Economy
The New American Economy coalition is pushing what it calls a more responsible approach to immigration reform, promoting slides like these that tout the benefits of immigrant participation in the economy.

A group of business and community leaders in Utah have come together to advocate for what they’re calling “responsible” immigration reform.

 

 

Calling itself the New American Economy, the coalition represents about 500 elected officials and business leaders from across the country and political spectrum.

 

Utah’s chapter includes more than a dozen elected leaders and business members, like Jorge Dennis, who runs a building maintenance company in Salt Lake and is a board member of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

 

He says the debate over immigration has been overly divisive.

 

“So this issue of immigration, obviously, has too long been used as a partisan weapon for both parties, with seemingly less and less regard to individuals, communities and small businesses,” he said. “This is a human issue, which requires more thought and sensitivity than some of the rhetoric that is thrown out there.”

 

Notably, the coalition is against the mass deportations that President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on. They’re also pushing for smarter border security and establishing a path for legal status for undocumented immigrants already here.

 

Sen. Orrin Hatch, while not a member of the coalition, expressed support during a conference call organized by the group on Monday.

 

“No one should expect a simple solution to such a complex set of problems,” Hatch said. “But I believe that our goal should be serious, effective legislation that can be broadly supported, not only by Congress, but the American people.”

 

Hatch says he’ll focus his legislative efforts on enforcement and improving the process for a highly skilled worker visa program, as well as an easy-to-use guest worker program for the agricultural sector.

 

Although not directly mentioning the wall Trump has pledged to build, Hatch says border security could be improved through better technology and biometrics to track people entering and exiting the country.

Julia joined KUER in 2016 after a year reporting at the NPR member station in Reno, Nev. During her stint, she covered battleground politics, school overcrowding, and any story that would take her to the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe. Her work earned her two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Originally from the mountains of Western North Carolina, Julia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in journalism. She’s worked as both a print and radio reporter in several states and several countries — from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Dakar, Senegal. Her curiosity about the American West led her to take a spontaneous, one-way road trip to the Great Basin, where she intends to continue preaching the gospel of community journalism, public radio and podcasting. In her spare time, you’ll find her hanging with her beagle Bodhi, taking pictures of her food and watching Patrick Swayze movies.
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