Immigration reform takes center stage politically

Intermountain Catholic

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Bishop John C. Wester signs the Utah Compact Nov. 11 at the State Capitol. Behind him from left are Salt Lake Chamber President/CEO Lane Beattie, former Utah State Gov. Olene Walker and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.

SALT LAKE CITY — For the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, Nov. 11 was less about celebrating veterans and more about honoring their legacy of guaranteeing fundamental American rights such as the pursuit of happiness and the right to speak openly in the public square. Bishop Wester spoke twice that day on the topic of immigration. Though his subject matter was the same, his audiences couldn’t have been more different. In the morning he joined a number of civic, religious, business and political leaders at the Capitol in signing the Utah Compact, a set of five principles meant to guide the immigration reform debate in the Beehive State (see sidebar.) In the evening, Bishop Wester spoke to college students at the Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center (see related story.)

The Utah Compact "was developed over several months by groups and individuals concerned about the tone of Utah’s immigration discussion," said Tom Love, president of Love Communication, who served as master of ceremonies at the press conference unveiling the compact. "We urge our elected leaders to utilize these guiding principles as they address the challenges associated with the broken national immigration system," he said. "The Utah Compact has broad support from community leaders, business associations, law enforcement officers, and members of Utah’s religious community. It’s a simple document but it stresses community values as they relate to specific policy issues that have become central to the immigration discussion."

Bishop Wester was one of five of the original signers of the compact. The others were former Utah State Gov. Olene Walker, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, Salt Lake Chamber President/CEO Lane Beattie and Sutherland Institute President Paul Mero.

Supporters of the compact are hoping that state legislators will agree to the five principles so that if contrary legislation is proposed, Bishop Wester said in an interview after the signing. "The Church has been advocating immigration reform for a long, long time and we see these principles as being valid principles and they coincide with a lot of our thinking. "We believe immigration reform will enhance the common good."

While those who signed the compact respect the rule of law, "local law enforcement resources should focus on criminal activities, not civil violations of federal code," said Shurtleff, adding that he sees immigration issues at the top of the Legislature’s agenda when it convenes in January "because there is so much talk about going forward with enforcement-only type legislation and doing away with things like instate tuition and the drivers privilege card."

Legislators have told him that an enforcement-only approach to immigration is politically popular, "and I want legislators to know that there’s a huge non-partisan, across-the-board … support for doing this thing right, doing it comprehensively, doing it compassionately … so legislators don’t feel they’ll be in trouble if they don’t support an enforcement-only (bill) from a political standpoint," he said.

While the Catholic Church’s role isn’t to craft legislation, Catholics are called to speak up about their principles, Bishop Wester said. "I would like to see our diocese be very forthright and very bold and very courageous and very outspoken in speaking for our brothers and sisters who are in this state and who are suffering because of the lack of immigration reform," he said. "If we don’t speak for the immigrant, who is going to do it? Christ give mandate to reach out. It’s a moral question. It’s a question of living the gospel."

The compact is online at Utahcompact.com; any Utah resident can sign it electronically.

"I would hope that every Catholic would take this opportunity to speak out on behalf of those who live among us … and have to remain in the shadows because of our broken immigration system," said Dee Rowland, Diocese of Salt Lake government liaison.