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Issues/News>
SL Trib: Immigration Debate Key to Cannon's...
March 10, 2008
Illegal immigration debate key to Cannon's re-election bid
By Matt Canham
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 03/10/2008 06:45:46 AM MDT
WASHINGTON - Rep. Chris Cannon's Republican challengers are
once again attacking his position on illegal immigration.
But, in a new twist, they also are attacking each other
with claims of unrealistic proposals and outright
flip-flopping.
David Leavitt and Jason Chaffetz say they don't want
their congressional campaigns to focus solely on
immigration policy, like the past two attempts to unseat
Cannon.
But the hot-button issue dominates just about every
meeting with the all-important delegates.
"If it is not the first question asked, it is the
second question," said Leavitt, a former Juab County
prosecutor who is the brother of Mike Leavitt, the Health
and Human Services secretary and former Utah governor.
Chaffetz, who was chief of staff to Gov. Jon Huntsman
Jr., and Leavitt know their best chance to unseat Cannon is
at the Republican convention in May. If a candidate gets 60
percent of the delegate vote, he will be the nominee. If no
one gets 60 percent, the top two will go to a primary.
Cannon represents one of the most conservative
districts in the nation and has repeatedly been attacked by
those on the right who disagree with his support of
President Bush's immigration plan, which would create a
pathway to citizenship for the 12 million people in this
country illegally. Cannon has since downplayed his support
for the Bush plan while talking up border security.
Chaffetz and Leavitt largely agree with Cannon on the
need to protect the border. All three want employers to
have better tools to check the immigration status of
workers and they support hefty penalties for companies that
knowingly employ undocumented people.
But all three candidates have big differences in their
plans to deal with the 12 million undocumented people
already in the country.
Chaffetz charges Leavitt with supporting amnesty and
changing his policy to better fit the feelings of many
Republican delegates. To back up his claims, Chaffetz
points to Leavitt's campaign Web site.
The section titled "preserving the rule of law" once
said: "We cannot create legality out of illegality, but we
can move them to the front of the line."
And a sentence later, added: "They could be admitted
into the country as temporary guest-workers until they are
granted immigration status."
Leavitt's site no longer mentions the "front of the
line" and it now clearly states that a guest-worker program
would not place immigrants on a path to citizenship.
"He has suddenly changed his position," Chaffetz said.
"We are going to be in a dust-up about this for some time."
Leavitt doesn't believe he changed his position, rather
he said he removed "some ambiguities."
Though he does agree that he removed "some things that
frankly didn't appear to be realistic."
He was referring to moving undocumented workers to "the
front of the line" to get U.S. citizenship.
Leavitt now says the issue is a "red herring" because
he has always supported a program requiring all
undocumented workers to leave the country before applying
for either citizenship or a guest-worker program. And under
that scenario, it would be virtually impossible for the
government to verify if a person had been in the country or
not.
Leavitt counters by saying Chaffetz's more hard-line
plan is unrealistic, ignoring economic concerns.
"When I'm crafting my stance on immigration, I'm
looking at things that actually work," he said.
Chaffetz wants to put all undocumented immigrants on "a
pathway to deportation." While some may stay on a temporary
worker program, he wants all 12 million people in the
country illegally sent home if they will not go willingly.
He said limiting jobs and greater enforcement of
existing laws would urge people to go back to their country
of origin. And streamlining the legal immigration process,
would give them hope of coming back eventually.
But he also backs large federal detention centers to
house immigrants, and major raids.
He expects such actions to create "disruptions" to the
economy, but said it is the right thing to do.
Leavitt said such wide-scale deportations are not
realistic.
On this point, Cannon agrees. The sitting congressman
is quite concerned about the impact on the economy and
businesses if immigrants were rounded up and shipped out.
He calls them "an essential part of our national work
force" on his campaign Web site.
Cannon is focused on bringing them "out of the
shadows," which he thinks will help make the country more
safe.
Leavitt calls a plan to legalize those who are
currently here "a farce," while Chaffetz calls it
"amnesty."
Cannon rejects them both, particularly any claim that
he supports amnesty.
"Unlike a candidate ambitious for the office I serve
in, I have a long and clear voting record of working for
solutions to our federal immigration problem," he said. "To
use a buzzword that has had its original meaning shredded
is willfully misleading."
Cannon also is being challenged by Joe Ferguson, who
believes the nation has allowed undocumented workers to
pour over the border as part of a plan to merge Canada,
Mexico and the U.S. into one entity known as the North
American Union.
What to do with the people who are here illegally
* Rep. Chris Cannon: Supports a guest-worker program
that would not involve the people who are already here
illegally; rather it would augment the current work force.
For those who are here, he supports a "path to
citizenship," which includes learning English, holding a
job, paying back taxes and a fine. He also supports
expanding legal migration.
* David Leavitt: All undocumented workers would have to
return to the border. They would be eligible to get a
temporary visa if they could prove full-time employment in
the U.S., verify that they have lived here and have no
criminal history. Or they could apply to be a citizen. It
is one or the other. Those with temporary visas would have
their wages garnished to pay for government services and
would be issued smart visas that would help track their
location.
* Jason Chaffetz: Those illegally in the country may be
permitted to stay for a short time with a new worker visa,
but would have to agree to leave or face serious criminal
punishment. They would have no way to become a citizen. He
supports the concept of "bonding," in which a portion of
the immigrants income would be held until they return to
their country of origin. He would streamline the legal
immigration program, focusing on allowing people who have
relatives in the U.S. to enter the country quickly.
* Joe Ferguson: Anyone here illegally should be
deported, but he thinks this would take a decade or more
and be conducted in waves, starting with those who are
convicted of a crime, then move on to those who are not
paying their way and finally deport farm and ranch workers
who are here illegally. All immigrants here on work visas
should be registered with the government.
(Tip of the day: Jason's last name is pronounced "Chay-fits")
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