This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - Western governors on Tuesday called on Congress to pass "comprehensive" reform to stem the burgeoning problems states are seeing from a flood of illegal immigrants.
Hoping to be the catalyst and help set the framework for reform, 14 governors joined to adopt a resolution co-written by Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. that urges Congress to act on several fronts, including approval of a guest-worker program, building a federal prison in the West to house convicted immigrants and boosting enforcement through technological advances.
Huntsman said the resolution is the group's attempt "to speak with a single and united voice as Congress now prepares to take this up in earnest."
The measure is written broadly but still puts the governors in opposition to a blanket amnesty while it supports 90,000 additional visas every year. Republican and Democratic governors voted for the resolution presented to the Western Governors' Association, which met during a gathering of the nation's governors.
"This is not about scoring political points," Huntsman said. "This is about governors who want very badly to see comprehensive reform in a very, very important policy area."
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat and co-author of the resolution, said she's unsure whether members of Congress will pay attention to the resolution, "but they should."
"They should because in our states we are dealing with this issue on a daily basis on the ground," Napolitano told reporters. "They should because this is a very thoughtful, very thorough approach to immigration. They should because we need in our country to deal with immigration beyond rhetoric and get down to realism."
The resolution, in part, supports "appropriate sanctions" for those breaking the law; urges Congress to avoid creating incentives for more illegal immigration; requests full funding for border enforcement and use of "cutting-edge" technology; and backs a system for employers to check a worker's legal status.
The measure impressed Louis Desipio, associate professor of political science and Latino studies at the University of California-Irvine.
"Compared to some of the things you're seeing out there right now it's a fairly balanced approach," Desipio said.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., an outspoken critic of immigration who is pushing for stringent reform, said the resolution was a mix.
"While it's disappointing that the governors have bought into the guest-worker hoax, at least they have said 'no' to amnesty," Tancredo said.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that seeks to halt illegal immigration and advocates wholesale reform, said the governors' proposal calls for "essentially" open borders, "a de facto amnesty for millions of illegal aliens."
Said Dan Stein, the group's president: "The governors' plan would work in much the same way that a guillotine cures a headache."
Reform-minded
Governors from these states voted for the resolution:
* Alaska
* Arizona
* California
* Colorado
* Idaho
* Montana
* Nevada
* New Mexico
* North Dakota
* Oregon
* South Dakota
* Utah
* Washington
* Wyoming
For more information, go to http://www.westgov.org.