From a newspaper columnist sarcastically urging the deportation of Congress; to an outreach worker who chastises Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, for supporting "Draconian" legislation; to a mayor who says the town can't run without them - Latinos are embraced nowhere more warmly than in Park City.

"Let's deport the idiots in Congress and replace them with the people who mow their lawns and clean their houses," wrote Tom Clyde in a recent issue of The Park Record newspaper. "I suspect we would all be better off as a result."

The nation's burning immigration issue is as hot in Park City as anywhere, but outwardly it is lopsided in favor of keeping Latino workers right where they are.

Without immigrant laborers in restaurant, lodging and landscaping businesses, among others, the town could not operate, said Park City Mayor Dana Williams.

"If the House bill were to become law, it would shut us down," he said.

That legislation - HR4437 - would, among other things, deport all undocumented workers.

Somewhere between 1,500 to 2,000 immigrants, mostly from Mexico, work and live in Park City. The mayor estimated that about half are undocumented.

"A large majority of the Park City [Anglo] community has embraced these families who have come here to work hard and live the American dream," he said.

Shelley Weiss, a longtime outreach worker for immigrants, publicly criticized Summit County's congressional representative for supporting the legislation.

"I don't think Rob Bishop is representing our community," she said. "I really don't think he's listening. Some people just don't get it."

All three of Utah's representatives voted in favor of the measure, prompting Bishop spokesman Scott Parker to say his boss is not out of step with Utah.

"Wherever the congressman goes, he overwhelmingly hears that immigration is a problem, and people want something done about it," Parker said.

Bishop supports efforts to secure U.S. borders and wants existing immigration laws enforced, Parker conceded. But the congressman also wants legal immigration made easier.

"There should be room here for everyone who wants to come for the right reasons."

Nonetheless, the legislation that Bishop voted for has immigrants in Park City "very nervous," according to a Catholic priest who has many Latino parishioners.

Park City's Anglo community has worked hard to build bridges to its immigrants, explained the Rev. Robert Bussen, including local programs in housing, education and health care. "The Hispanic community in Park City feels that stability," he said. "They feel like they have a place here."

Rather than real reform in immigration law, Bussen fears the failure of the U.S. Senate to pass meaningful legislation has turned the issue into a "political charade."

"We can look forward to the status quo," he lamented. "With heightened awareness and heightened antipathy."

csmart@sltrib.com