Governor is not afraid to talk about immigration

By John Florez
Published: Monday, Aug. 1, 2005 9:21 a.m. MDT
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Let's applaud Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. for taking the "elephant" — illegal immigration — with him to visit Mexican President Vicente Fox last month. In February, the governor was the first elected official in the state to mention the "I" word. He not only made it a topic for discussion with Mexican officials, but also has now put it on his agenda for the National Governors Association to find and press for national solutions to our failed immigration policies.

It's refreshing to see our governor willing to use his political capital by placing immigration on the table for debate. His personal visit to Mexico, and his ability to speak frankly and thoughtfully about such a sensitive issue, I believe, helped him gain the respect of Mexican officials.

The problem of illegal immigration is dividing Utah citizens more each day. Both sides of the issue have valid arguments based on their perceptions of what they want to see. The great influx of illegal immigrants has changed our landscape and the quality of life we have come to value.

Globalization changed our world, and the terror of 9/11 became the flashpoint that made us realize the dangers and challenges America faces. It exposed how our sclerotic public institutions and laws have become the problem rather than the solution.

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It's a different world we live in today as Thomas Friedman has stated in the title of his book, "The World is Flat." And we have been caught flat-footed. Our political leaders, who are supposed to look after our national interests, appear unwilling to use their political capital to do so, while gaining political support from special-interest groups who benefit from outdated policies. Change is often frightening and, when feeling vulnerable, the instinctive human reaction is to turn inward and look for easy scapegoats, such as illegal Mexicans (all Latinos are thrown in the mix).

Today, our daily lives are being affected. Our schools, health and public safety systems are struggling to survive, running on overload and costly. However, few have taken the time to point out the contribution illegal immigrants have made to help our economy stay afloat in a changing world.

The reality is that we live in this new "flat world," and it would do us well to do what Americans have always done when facing danger — pull together. We are fortunate to have a governor who seems to have good instincts about doing the public good and who is naive enough to think he can bring about change.

And you know what? The naive ones often become the great leaders because that's what it takes to bring about change while maintaining our common values. People, especially when facing tough times, look for a leader who can sense and articulate what is in their hearts and minds and begin offering hope and solutions. Huntsman, by bringing up illegal immigration for public debate at the local and national level, is doing what he said he would do — take risks!

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