‘Utah benefits every day from immigrants like me,’ in this week’s Inside Voices

Happy Saturday, and welcome to Inside Voices, a weekly newsletter that features a collection of ideas, perspectives and solutions from across Utah — without any of the vitriol or yelling that’s become all too common on other platforms. Subscribe here.

For Luisana, a young woman living in Utah, being granted temporary protected status “was like waking up from a bad dream I had been trapped in.”

But when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s move to end TPS for Venezuelans earlier this year, she says she “lost not only my right to stay here legally, but also the possibility of having a normal life.”

In an op-ed for The Salt Lake Tribune, Luisana describes how she moved to Utah from Venezuela when she was 16 years old and has been working and going to school since then.

“Utah benefits every day from immigrants like me,” she writes, and self-deportation “is not a solution.”

“Could I leave? Sure, it’s as easy as buying a one-way ticket, and that’s it. But then, what would I find once I got to Venezuela? My grandmother’s empty house because she passed away in 2020, before I ever got to see her again. My father, with more gray hair and wrinkles. Insecurity and confusion because I wouldn’t be able to express myself in English anymore without being seen as different or attacked. It would be like starting from zero in another country.”

Read more about Luisana’s experience — and her call to action for Utahns.

Immigration policy is top of mind for other Utahns, as well, including an educator at Utah Valley University. In another op-ed for The Salt Lake Tribune, Jeffrey Nielsen makes the case for a renewal in immigration policy, one that Utah can help model.

“Immigration is not a peripheral issue,” he writes. “It is central to the moral health of our democracy and the integrity of our communities … By modernizing our immigration laws, creating earned pathways to legal status, protecting children and families, managing borders with humanity, and partnering internationally to address the root causes of migration, we can build a system that reflects both compassion and responsibility.”

Read his call to become “who we are meant to be — a shining city on a hill.”

And let me know: What is at the heart of the immigration issue for you? What would improve the immigration system?

Utah Voices

The following excerpts come from op-eds recently published in The Tribune.

Utah doesn’t have a low literacy rate, just a high standard

“You may have heard, as I have, that students who don’t read on grade level are more likely to be on food stamps, drop out of high school or serve time in prison,” writes Brooke Anderson. “The studies that formed the basis of those conclusions were using a much lower standard of reading and trying to predict risk of illiteracy. Utah is not using the current reading on grade level standard to predict risk or illiteracy, and neither should you.” Read more.

Food insecurity is bad for business. Here’s how Utah employers can help.

“We need to consider the effects of food insecurity using a broader lens and start treating food insecurity as a business issue that impacts both employees and employers,” writes Bailey Bigelow. “Many employees showing up to their jobs are bringing with them the worries of not having enough food and how they can sustain their families. This non-trivial issue requires attention and calls to action by companies and business leaders in our community.” Read more.

Utah overlooks its middle school students. Here’s what teachers need from lawmakers.

“Middle school is not a hallway between elementary and high school; it is the engine room of Utah’s academic future,” writes educator Lindsey Larsen. “As lawmakers enter the upcoming legislative session, the focus must shift to where academic trajectories harden: grades six through eight. Utah can no longer afford to overlook the middle. Investing in early, targeted math intervention in the middle grades is one of the most fiscally responsible steps the state can take to raise achievement, narrow gaps and ensure students are truly prepared for what comes next.” Read more.

Are Utah leaders’ energy ambitions going to nuke your wallet?

“It’s fashionable to blame bureaucracy, and it’s a factor, but the high price of nuclear power is largely due to the need for specialized alloys, highly refined fuels, safety demands and the long tail of decommissioning reactors and storing waste,” writes Tim Fitzpatrick. “The new nuclear startups’ designs do not avoid these things. And even in today’s anti-regulatory mood, there’s only so far that the government can distance itself.” Read more.

Share Your Perspective

I’m gathering predictions for the new year. What do you see happening — or what would you like to see happen — in Utah in 2026?

From Bagley’s Desk

I’m always looking for unique perspectives, ideas and solutions that move our state forward. Learn more about our guidelines for an op-ed, guest essay, letter to the editor and more here, and drop me a note at voices@sltrib.com.