A group of Utah County Republicans would like the county party to pass a resolution condemning the passage of a bill that creates a guest worker program for illegal immigrants in Utah, among other things. The resolution was discussed at the party\'s executive committee meeting Thursday night, and if passed, would put the county party on the opposite side of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

LOS ANGELES -- This week, the governor of Utah, Republican Gary Herbert, signed into law four bills that attempted to find a solution to the presence of more than 100,000 undocumented immigrants in the state. In addition to approving a measure similar to the one in Arizona, Utah passed three other laws.

The LDS Church stepped from the sidelines on immigration reform and squarely onto the playing field Tuesday by sending Presiding Bishop H. David Burton to attend and speak at Gov. Gary Herbert’s signing ceremony for four bills passed by the Utah Legislature. “Our presence here testifies to the fact that we are appreciative of what has happened in the Legislature this session,” Burton said at the signing, indicating it was no accident or private decision. “We feel the Legislature has done an incredible job on a very complex issue.”

Gov. Gary Herbert signed four immigration reform bills in a semiprivate ceremony at the Capitol on Tuesday — officially marking Utah’s attempt to pioneer a path on the hot-button issue by challenging federal sovereignty through the authorization of guest-worker permits. If successful, state politicians believe the laws could lay a foundation for a national solution to the complicated issue. If they fail, Utah will likely become just another state embroiled in litigation over the federal government’s claim to sole responsibility in setting immigration policy.

Washington • An anti-illegal immigration group angered over Utah legislation to create a state-based guest-worker program is taking out its angst against someone who didn’t write it, vote on it and says he has no position on it: Sen. Orrin Hatch. Raleigh, N.C.-based Americans for Legal Immigration political action committee urged Utahns to oust Hatch and Gov. Gary Herbert for supporting “amnesty for illegal aliens,” an allegation that didn’t sit well with Hatch.

For those who have labored to produce a unique Utah solution to the challenges of illegal immigration, Tuesday\'s signing by Gov. Gary Herbert of this year\'s comprehensive immigration reform legislation must have felt like the end of a long road. This year, Utah\'s lawmakers have managed to accomplish legislatively what has eluded Congress: increased enforcement that weeds out dangerous criminals while providing a guest worker program coupled with tough but common-sense safeguards.

\"Utah is doing the right thing, is doing the hard thing. Doing nothing is not an option,\" Herbert said in a brief signing ceremony in the Capitol\'s Gold Room attended by business, legislative and religious leaders, including Presiding Bishop H. David Burton of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Asked by a reporter for the LDS Church\'s public position on the immigration bills, Bishop Burton said the church had endorsed the Utah Compact. \"We feel that the Legislature has done an incredible job on a very complex issue,\" Burton said.

OJO: THIS IS HOW THE ANTI-INMIGRANTS THINK The House Immigration Subcommittee convened on Thursday to discuss the impact of illegal aliens in the workforce on vulnerable Americans.The hearing didn\'t get much attention, but it discussed a serious topic, including the comments made by Greg Serbon - a union worker who discussed the disconnect between the pro-illegal-alien union leaders and the pro-enforcement union members. While dissenters threw out unrealistic, hypothetical solutions, Serbon directed his focus an attrition through enforcement

There’s been a lot of discussion about immigration policy in the states. Arizona and Utah have garnered a lot of attention. But, an article this week on Yahoo Noticias pointed us to some very interesting findings on the issue in Idaho. A poll of Idaho residents, conducted by Boise State University’s Public Policy Center late last year, showed some expected—and surprising—results on immigration. Check this out:

Today the national office of the ACLU, in cooperation with the ACLU of Utah, issued the first in-depth, preliminary legal analysis of what H.B. 497, \"Utah Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act,\" really means for anyone living in or traveling through Utah. Utah lawmakers have represented to the public and the media that HB 497 is a \"kindler, gentler\" version of Arizona\'s SB 1070--which the ACLU, the Department of Justice, and others sought successfully to block in two separate federal lawsuits.

The Legislature passed three immigration reform bills Thursday that set Utah up to blaze a new — and controversial — path that diverges from Arizona’s approach on the volatile issue. The journey, however, was something of a roller-coaster ride until the very end. Late last Friday night, House members took turns wrestling with the step Utah was about to take: passing a bill that directly challenges the federal government’s sovereignty on immigration.

SALT LAKE CITY — Only time will tell if Utah has really found a solution to illegal immigration. State lawmakers said from the outset of the 2011 legislative session that they wanted a \"Utah solution,\" meaning they wanted to distance the state from the fallout in Arizona. That much seems to be accomplished. So far pundits nationwide have viewed the series of bills passed in the Utah Legislature as a less punitive, more even-handed approach.

In an op-ed piece on Politico, Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles executive director Alfonso Aguilar heaps praise on the Utah legislature for its recent passage of immigration legislation \"that mandates tougher illegal immigration enforcement and employee verification provisions (and), most important, (gives) undocumented immigrants a permit to work and live in the state without the fear of being detained and deported.\"

SALT LAKE CITY — It\'s a rare occasion when \"Kate\" feels comfortable enough to share her secret. And even when she does, most don\'t believe her — at least not at first. Kate is a U.S. citizen who\'s married to Luis, an undocumented immigrant. Together, the couple has four children between the ages of 7 and 13 — all of whom were born on U.S. soil.

Utah just made history. While the federal government avoids tackling the immigration issue — and most states seem intent to deal with it through the limited prism of enforcement — Utah, one of the reddest of states, is providing a lesson to the nation by adopting a common-sense, market-based answer to the immigration question.

SALT LAKE CITY — Meet the new bill. Same as the old bill. Rep. Stephen Sandstrom\'s revised enforcement-only illegal immigration measure came out Thursday with only slight changes from the much-maligned HB70. \"There\'s very little difference,\" the Orem Republican said. After meeting with the Utah Attorney General\'s Office, the Utah Department of Public Safety and Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank, he said he made technical adjustments that would help police officers carry out the law.