In a special session last week, the Utah Legislature weighed in on the current debt ceiling crisis by passing another resolution urging Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. But it got no support from a clearly frustrated Democratic caucus in the Utah House of Representatives.
The Utah Chapter of the American Civil liberties Union says the Salt Lake County Jail is illegally holding suspected illegal immigrants. The group filed suit against the jail, saying it violates the due process rights of detainees by keeping them locked up regardless of bail, so federal agents can check their immigration status. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, Salt Lake County Sherriff Jim Winder says the ACLU aiming that arrow at the wrong target.
A group of activists and state lawmakers rallied Wednesday afternoon during a special session of the legislature in support of repealing the guest worker law passed during the 2011 session. Brandon Beckham, who helped lead the effort to pass resolutions at the county and state GOP conventions, says the bill had warning signs from the start. He says those who voted for the bill and Governor Gary Herbert are traitors who will be held accountable in the 2012 election.
Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz continues to be a rising star in the GOP, getting more and more attention as he moves to closer to announcing a run against Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in 2012. We talked with Chaffetz about his political plans, the debt ceiling debate, Afghanistan and more.
Utah’s congressional delegation is derelict on immigration. That’s the exact message sent by an op-ed from Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart that was recently published by the Daily Herald in Provo. Her opinion piece mentions all five of Utah’s federal Representatives and Senators by name, taking them to task for what she believes is an abdication of their responsibility to do something about immigration reform.
It wasn’t hatred of illegal immigrants but the desire to return a favor. That’s what Leah Carson, one of the two former state workers convicted for her role in compiling and distributing a list of 1,300 purported undocumented residents, told the Utah Attorney General’s office while being questioned. It came in three-and-a-half hours of video obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune, which has reported on it extensively and posted the interviews online.
Republican delegates approved a resolution to repeal and replace Utah’s guest worker program on Saturday at the Utah Republican Party Convention. HB 116 was signed into law following the 2011 Legislative session, and is set to take effect in 2013. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, delegates say this weekend’s vote sends a clear message to the legislature that heads will roll for those who don’t want to repeal it.
A new statement from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints advocates a way for illegal immigrants to be quote “square with the law,” and decries mass expulsion or mistreatment of them. Some state lawmakers say it’s enough to change the minds of Republicans who want to repeal a guest worker permit bill signed into law by Governor Gary Herbert, but as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, one GOP legislator says for him, the church’s statement is as clear as mud.
Two former Department of Workforce Services employees who took part in circulating the names and information of people living in the state that were said to be illegal immigrants were sentenced Monday. The infamous “List” was released to the media and law enforcement last July, causing panic in the Hispanic community. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the director of a prominent Latino group says the punishments the two women received are an injustice.
Utah’s second largest city is undertaking a major effort to make the city a better place to live, work and have fun. In fact, West Valley City is close to making a major announcement regarding its City Center project. We were joined by West Valley City Councilman Corey Rushton to talk about redevelopment efforts in the city.
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