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The topic of immigration is so politically charged that several members of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly boycotted Thursday's meeting when they found out Cherilyn Eagar — a supporter of an enforcement-only immigration bill — would be the keynote speaker.
It left only six members sitting at City Hall to listen to Eager, a member of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration, as she presented a slide show and video explaining why enforcement is needed.
Hispanic Assembly Chairman Michael Clara was disappointed. There are 40 members of the Hispanic Assembly. Not every member who didn't attend boycotted; some couldn't make the meeting for other reasons.
"People said they didn't want to waste their time," Clara said. "But we're in the same party. We have to talk."
It marked a contrast to the last meeting, when close to 20 members of the assembly showed up to listen to Rep. Stephen Sandstrom defend his Arizona-style immigration bill. Sandstrom's bill has been at the center of the immigration conversation for much of the year.
It would require law enforcement officers to verify the legal status of those they suspect of being here illegally — though they could only be questioned if stopped in the act of committing a crime or infraction.
The conversation at Thursday's meeting was civil as Eagar laid our her reasons for supporting Sandstrom's bill.
"I do believe we are at a tipping point in this country," she said. "Not just with immigration but with the economy."
But while the conversation around the table was robust, solutions weren't readily available. Clara said he simply wanted to try to lower the temperature around the debate and see if each side could listen to concerns of the other side. The Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration is a collection of groups that oppose illegal immigration.
"All these problems we created," Clara said. "And we're turning it around and blaming it on the population of poor people and trying to act like they created the problem."
Eagar said while she supports Sandstrom's bill, she also said it's just one part of the strategy for dealing with the issue. She said she would like companion bills that take on other aspects of illegal immigration and that the Orem Republican's proposed legislation can't do it alone.
She said there are aspects of the bill proposed by Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake City, that she hasn't resolved in her mind — namely a requirement that undocumented immigrants register for a permit after being in Utah for 18 months. That process would require them to get a card, register with the state and be subjected to criminal background checks in order to stay in Utah.
Eagar said she doubted undocumented workers would want to come forward and subject themselves to those background checks.
"Sandstrom's is just one piece — the enforcement piece — but it's an isolated piece of legislation that needs something else," Eagar said.
When asked about blending it with the Robles bill, Eagar said she hasn't "had the chance to discuss it with him."
Eagar said, however, there "will be many bills coming forward" to deal with immigration and she isn't sure what the implications are for them and which ones might fit with other pieces of legislation.
But on Thursday night, Clara and Eagar mainly wanted to try to bring the sides together.