This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Republican state delegates were recently polled by a Washington, D.C.-based group seeking to defeat a resolution calling for repeal of a controversial guest-worker law at the state party's convention next week.
American Principles in Action funded the poll, and its architect, Alfonso Aguilar, said his group has offered to make results available to any of the groups supporting HB116 — including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.
But LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said Wednesday the faith declined that offer.
"Our support for the package of bills passed by the Utah Legislature has been clear, and there was no need to see the polling results," Trotter said.
Marty Carpenter, spokesman for the Salt Lake Chamber, said, "I don't know why we'd turn down the offer," but said he wasn't aware of the data actually being presented yet to the business group.
The poll, according to some delegates who participated, took about 30 minutes to complete and asked a series of questions — including if the poll participant understood the stance of the LDS Church on HB116 and if a stronger statement of support for the law by the church would affect his or her vote on the resolution to repeal it.
Bob Wren, a delegate until he stepped down this year because of scheduling conflicts, took the poll and said it was clear to him that it was trying to push him in the direction of opposing the anti-HB116 resolution.
"I think the purpose was to gather information about what the delegates are thinking so they can plan a program to present to the delegates before the convention," Wren said.
Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, said it was critical to stop momentum for the HB116 repeal movement and to kill the resolution, which will be heard at the state convention June 18.
The Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles is an initiative of American Principles in Action and features a series of conservatives within its ranks, including Jeffrey Bell, who was an issues adviser to Ronald Reagan's presidential campaigns in 1976 and 1980. The Latino Partnership counts Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, among those on its board of advisers.
Aguilar said Republicans in Utah need to understand that their state is a "microcosm and a battleground" for the issue of immigration within the Republican Party and that the results of this fight over HB116 could impact the 2012 presidential race.
"The reality is we cannot win back the White House if we don't get at least 40 percent of the Latino vote," he said. "If we continue to let a minority of GOP members use rhetoric offensive to immigrants, we will not get 40 percent and we will have Barack Obama for another four years, and that will be a travesty for America."
He said the nation has been watching the fight over HB116 unfold since it was being debated in the Utah Legislature earlier this year. The law, signed by Gov. Gary Herbert in March, has come under fire from opponents who charge it is unconstitutional and grants amnesty to undocumented immigrants in the state.
Under its provisions, a $2,500 fine would be levied on undocumented immigrants who entered the state illegally and a $1,000 fine would be imposed on those who overstayed visas. It also would require them to be subjected to background checks before a visa is issued. However, the law doesn't take effect until July 2013 — giving those who support it time to try to obtain a federal waiver to allow it to work.
But a resolution to repeal HB116 was passed in Utah, Salt Lake and Washington county Republican conventions and it is now awaiting a showdown at the state convention.
Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who is one of the chief proponents of HB116, said, however, that resolutions passed at state party conventions are non-binding. He has also floated a proposal to toughen some enforcement aspects of HB116, including requirements of grown children of undocumented immigrants to pass background checks.
Ron Mortensen, co-founder of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration, said the poll would be transparent to those who took it — especially by asking questions about the LDS Church's stance on HB116.
"They made a mistake by pushing the issue so strongly," Mortensen said. "That happens when you have an outside group doing these things."
Aguilar said his group is analyzing the results now and likely won't make the findings public.
Twitter: @davemontero —
HB116
The law passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor would create a state-based guest-worker program.
Provisions of the law, which would not take effect until July 2013 or sooner if a federal waiver is obtained, include:
• fines for undocumented workers
• background checks
• requirements for these workers to have health insurance