Utah? Really. Utah?

At some point you have to decide if you are a blood and race nationalist or a free market advocate - and I think the folks in Utah have reached that point. Earlier this week a set of immigration reform bills passed the Utah legislature - generally in the top three red states in the country (with Idaho and Oklahoma) - and it seems to be getting a mixed reception. As State Rep. Bill Wright commented, Utah has come to the point where they realize that the economic welfare of their state - and its population growth - is dependent on migrant labor:

"I'm of the opinion that we really don't have the ability as a society to remove that large a portion of a segment from our society — either the cost, or just the damage it would do," Wright says.

"A lot of these people are intertwined in our society. They have financial obligations: They have bank notes; they've bought houses; they contribute; they have jobs," he says.

Operating from that premise, Wright's guest-worker permit law says that if you pay a fine, have no criminal record and are working, you can stay in Utah.

The solution seems to be the product of Utah's business community, the state Republican Party, and the LDS (Mormon) Church. Read more about the Utah Compact, here. See what the Mormons said about the compact, here.

Utahns - generally very Tea Party in nature - seem to be the angriest about this, and seem to be showing how little concern they have for the position of their own church - after all, aren't Mormons supposed to abstain from tea (insert rim shot). At any rate, I enjoyed this bit of irony from a comment posted in the Deseret News ... though I am sure the author is unaware of it. I wonder what country will take him in - and if he will wait for a visa, etc. before he goes.

My senator an representative don't give a darn what the majority wants: tough crackdown and deportation of illegals. The "utah solution" is a total travesty and an insult to the citizens. After trying so hard to have the legislature do the right and honnorable thing it is now clear to me that the only recourse left is to move to another country. BTW, I don't expect it to be better there, but that's the point. I don't expect to be betrayed by the government. [sic on all the errors in this one]

Glenn Beck, Mormons, and Mexico

Ok, so two posts related to Mormons on this blog puts me in danger of getting a gazillion hits that have little to do with Latin America (9 of 10 google searches that bring people to this site are already about Mennonites).

On March 27, UDB and talk show host Glenn Beck went on the attack against Mexico, saying that the nation is run by nothing but criminals. Coming from GOP politics it takes a lot of cajones *pun intended* to assault Mexican politics as being full of criminals and that immigration to the US is a simple attempt to flood this nation with criminals. Interesting. So all Mexicans are criminals?

In a twist of fun irony, Mr. Beck is himself a very vocal Mormon - a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In that church, if you are breaking the law you can't join in through baptism and confirmation. However, are "illegal" immigrants baptized by the LDS church? You bet your mormon crickets they are.

Take a clue from your own church, Mr. Beck, which actually has fairly interesting things to say about compassion, etc. when it comes to "illegal" immigration. As Mr. Beck puts it, his conversion to Mormonism came from a moment of contemplation on their concept of Zion - community based on love, compassion, and shared purpose "one heart and one mind," etc. Says Mr. Beck "I want to genuinely love someone the first time I met them."

Let's introduce Glenn to some Mexicans, quick.

**Again, I'm uninterested in posts about Mormons and Mormonism unless somehow directly related to Latin America.

Menonitas, Mormons, Water Rights, and Crime

Excelsior is reporting that the Mennonites in Chihuahua are starting to feel the pinch of security problems. The coverage is fairly pithy, but here is the video link. CBC carried out a fairly melodramatic mini series about Mennonites and crime (two years ago?) called The Mennonite Mafia. Of course Mennonites have been involved in drug smuggling and the like for some time (ahem, shameless self promotion of my chapter in Martin Nesvig's edited volume on religion in Modern Mexico).

Having been in Chihuahua in May, my larger concern with the Mennonites is more environmental. Seems that there are sections of Chihuahua where there is VERY strict control on drilling wells. Turns out the Mennonites punch wells anyway and then simply pay the fine: They make more on the crops than what the fine costs them.

Water has always been an issue in Chihuahua, but the tension is growing. Ejidatarios, so abusive of their own land, are spilling on to land held by the Mormon Colonists near Colonia Juraez. Last may I met one Mormon farmer who was set to give up his land until a narcotraficante neighbor decided that it was best to have a Mormon buffer between him and the ejidatarios. The squatters were paid a visit (no gun play) by the traficante and the next day the land claim was withdrawn and the squatters were gone.

Water, space, drug violence, religious colonists, etc.... Chihuahua was so much like the Montana that I grew up in I was completely won over by the idea of looking at areas in history according to watershed and rain similarity.

And incidently...the famous Mormon apple orchards are giving way to peaches, pecans and apricots. Climate change, baby.