This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Congressman Rob Bishop resorted to fatuous right-wing baloney in Park City recently when he said he might support immigration reform if we secure the border.
Bishop knows that the border is more secure today than it has ever been. Border crossings are at their lowest in decades. Where was Bishop back in the George Bush years when so-called "illegals" reached 16 million, compared to about 11 million today?
As president, Bush made a big to-do about building a wall, but never pushed for funding, and all these anti-immigration Republicans seemed fine with that.
The Customs and Border Protection agency is larger than it has ever been, with 58,000 employees, 269 aircraft, 300 camera towers and aerial drones. The administration is spending $4 billion a year, yet Bishop and his conservative cronies want to make that $55 billion per year. Building fences has many complications, including fencing in workers who come here to work in seasonal agriculture and business. Sen. Orrin Hatch is on board to pass the immigration bill. Bishop and his fellow Utah congressmen need to suck it up and do what is right, rather than bow down to tea-party extremists.
Ron Swenson
St. George