Yesterday about 30 students of West High Schoolwalked out of class and held a demonstration to protest the House Immmigration Bill . The students were able to ultimately attract a crowed of about 400 people, according the Salt Lake Tribune article.
The walkout was part of a nationwide call for action for students to walk out of classrooms in protest of this legislation. Tens of thousands of students across the country walked out of their classrooms.
About 300 students walked out of Northwest Middle School and 30 at Kearns High School in addition to the West High School Students.
The House legislation is designed at “immigration reform”. Here in Utah undocumented immigrants have had their drivers’ licenses taken away and replaced with “driving privelege” cards. Legislation was introduced to eliminate in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants here, but that failed.
“They can put barriers on me, but they’re not stopping me,” said Marisela, who declined to give her last name. “The American dream is not a crime.” Marisela is a West High School student who walked out of her classes yeseterday.
The Deseret News reports the U.S. Senators clears way for illegal aliens. In an obvious election-year move, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has cleared the way for 11 million illegal aliens to seek U.S. citizenship.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved sweeping election-year legislation Monday that clears the way for 11 million illegal aliens to seek U.S. citizenship, a victory for protesters who had spilled into the streets by the hundreds of thousands demanding better treatment for immigrants.
With a bipartisan coalition in control, the committee also voted down proposed criminal penalties on immigrants found to be in the country illegally. It approved a new temporary program allowing entry for 1.5 million workers seeking jobs in the agriculture industry.
“All Americans wanted fairness, and they got it this evening,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who played a pivotal role in drafting the legislation.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he hoped President Bush would participate in efforts to fashion consensus legislation.
The 12-6 vote broke down along unusual lines, with a majority of the panel’s Republicans opposed to the measure even though their party controls the Senate.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, voted against the bill because of its guest worker program, which he saw as a form of amnesty, according to spokesman Peter Carr.
“I’m against amnesty, and some approaches, no matter how they try to disguise it, are just that,” Hatch said. “And we shouldn’t give an edge to those who have broken the law when there are thousands of people in other countries who are playing by the rules and have been waiting in line to come into the United States.”
Hatch acknowledged that “we’re a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation that respects the rule of law.”
Provisions of measure OK’d by Senate panel – published in today’s Deseret News:
* Allows illegal immigrants who were in the United States before 2004 to continuing working legally for six years if they pay a $1,000 fine and clear a criminal background check. They would become eligible for permanent residence upon paying another $1,000 fine, any back taxes and having learned English.
* Says new immigrants would have to have temporary work visas. They also could earn legal permanent residence after six years.
* Adds up to 14,000 new Border Patrol agents by 2011 to the current force of 11,300 agents.
* Authorizes a “virtual wall” of unmanned vehicles, cameras and sensors to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border.
* Creates a special guest-worker program for an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers, who can also earn legal permanent residency.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 