Latino groups attempted Thursday to call a two-year timeout on debating bills that deal with illegal immigration, but a Senate committee instead signaled for lawmakers to play on. The Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee voted 2-1 to kill SJR18 by Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, which he said he pushed on behalf of the Latino community.

SALT LAKE CITY — There was plenty of frustration expressed Thursday over a new Senate immigration bill that incorporates enforcement and guest worker provisions of several House bills. \"We will stand by the work of the House,\" House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, told reporters, suggesting the Senate stick with the House\'s immigration bills. \"The House has worked very hard, up to a year or more on these issues with all of the interested parties,\" Lockhart said. \"We think that we\'ve addressed all the issues.\"

SALT LAKE CITY -- Reactions on Capitol Hill to Sen. Curt Bramble\'s comprehensive immigration reform bill have been mixed. Gov. Gary Herbert says he likes what he hears, while House leadership said they\'re standing by the bills they have already passed. \"I think that it\'s certainly moving in the right direction,\" Herbert said. The governor did acknowledge that he has not had the chance to review Bramble\'s bill but did say, \"I\'m encouraged by what I hear.\"

SALT LAKE CITY — After keeping quiet on the issue during the debate, Governor Herbert has largely stayed above the fray through the tumultuous session. But Thursday, he talked a bit about how he plans to wield his influence. While in the House, a vote on Rep. Carl Wimmer\'s vote was so close, one representative changing their mind would have changed the outcome

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (kuer) - Immigration issues dominated yesterday\'s legislative debates on Utah\'s Capitol Hill. If fact, they were a big topic as well in Governor Gary Herbert\'s monthly news conference with reporters. Each day this session - lawmakers have lurched from one emotional immigration bill to next. In the end, what could result is passing a combination of bills that may make Utah unique in the nation. KUER\'S Jenny Brundin reports.

For the second time in two working days, the House overwhelmingly passed an immigration reform bill — this time targeting employers who hire undocumented workers and who don’t participate in the federal government’s E-Verify program.

Backers of bills before the General Assembly argue that stopping illegal immigrants from working in Georgia can be as simple as pushing a few buttons. Just type a new employee’s name into the website of the federal program E-Verify, which confirms whether he or she can work legally in the U.S. Some employers already use it, but Georgia should make it mandatory, backers argue.

The nation\'s immigration battle returned to the state Capitol on Tuesday as a key legislative committee passed two major bills that could significantly impact illegal immigrants living in Arizona. The Senate Appropriations Committee became the first state legislative committee in the nation to pass a package of bills intended to challenge the practice of granting citizenship to children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants.

SALT LAKE CITY — When it comes to illegal immigration — one of the state\'s toughest, trickiest issues — Utahns seem to want a solution, but just aren\'t sure what it is. \"I don\'t know of an issue that\'s been more confusing for a long, long time,\" said pollster Dan Jones, who has been conducting surveys on the issue for years.

Hispanics were at the leading edge of the state\'s population surge in the last decade, accounting for more than two-thirds of the growth, making up 38 percent of the state\'s 25.1 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau\'s latest figures. The state\'s population growth was bigger than any other state, with only California having more people.

SALT LAKE CITY - A Latino activist, pressing the Mormon church to take a stronger stance against enforcement-only immigration bills, recently delivered to the Mexican Consulate here a letter asking that President Felipe Calderon\'s government suspend visas to Mormon missionaries. Raul Lopez-Vargas, a former vice president the community Centro Civico, hand-delivered the letter signed by more than 130 people.

State Sen. Russell Pearce capped this year\'s bill frenzy by dropping his long-awaited illegal immigration bill yesterday. SB 1611 is pretty much what you\'d expect: Throwing illegal immigrants who drive cars in jail. Seizing their vehicles for auction, with proceeds swallowed by the state. Proof of legal residency to register for elementary schools. Eviction from public housing. Shut-down of businesses that don\'t use E-Verify. No community college or public benefits. No federal regs recognized.

Senate President Russell Pearce on Monday introduced a wide-ranging bill that seeks to crack down on illegal immigration by tightening standards for registering and driving a vehicle, enrolling in school and hiring workers.

SALT LAKE CITY — Of the several illegal immigration proposals floating around the Legislature, Utahns favor one that would provide work permits. A KSL/Deseret News poll found 71 percent of residents like the idea of state-issued work permits for undocumented immigrants that allow them to remain in the country if they have a job and undergo a criminal background check.

SALT LAKE CITY — Of the several illegal immigration proposals floating around the Legislature, Utahns favor one that would provide work permits. A Deseret News/KSL-TV poll found 71 percent of residents like the idea of state-issued work permits for undocumented immigrants that allow them to remain in the country if they have a job and undergo a criminal background check.

SALT LAKE CITY — It\'s not a fancy community council room with a polished pulpit and big, leather chairs where leaders direct the city\'s business with pomp and circumstance. It\'s the back room of a public library in Rose Park, a musty, boxy place with shabby carpet, plastic seats and glaring fluorescent lights. The people who meet there don\'t wear ties and shiny shoes. They\'re the kind of folks who sit back during an important meeting, the dust of the day still settling off their work pants, with one well-worn tennis shoe propped up on the chair in front of them.