Rep. Chris Cannon said Thursday that states should consider immigration reform.
"The states have a role," Cannon, R-Utah, said during a meeting with the editorial board of the Deseret Morning News. "The states decide who gets a (driver's) license. The states decide about in-state tuition. The states have the right to enter into a program with the federal government to enforce immigration laws with Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
The six-term Republican said the federal government's job is to secure the nation's borders and consider comprehensive immigration reform that includes consideration of the Social Security taxes collected from illegal immigrants.
Cannon voted for the construction of a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border and said it has been successful because it is creating sharper conflict in Mexico, where President Felipe Calderon "is doing a good job" fighting the war on drugs.
Cannon characterized the conflict as a civil war that has claimed the lives of 2,000 Mexican police officers.
"Texas can't protect its border," he said. "That is a federal problem. It's the burden of the federal government to come up with a system that works. The wall is a good idea, but we need to decide how to order our society to accept the people who will come for jobs because their children are suffering from malnutrition."
Cannon said Utah college presidents tell him the marginal cost for the small number of children of undocumented workers allowed to pay in-state tuition is low enough to not be a problem for their schools.
That angers some people out of state who want the same benefit for their children, and Cannon said the state might want to reconsider the entire in-state tuition program.
He expressed understanding for the anger he encounters over the illegal immigration issue because it involves broken laws and, he said, the rule of law is what allows Americans to enjoy a free society.
Cannon said he appreciated the visit of Elder Marlin K. Jensen of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Capitol Hill.
"Saying we should be compassionate is helpful," Cannon said. "We've got a lot of angry people, and when you're angry, it's hard to be compassionate."
He contended that most Americans actually agree on immigration issues.
"Eighty-five percent of Americans, when you walk them through the particulars, agree," he said. "It's not an easy yes-or-no question. It's 12 questions. If you say, isn't it horrible people are here breaking laws, most will say yes. But when you ask them what we should do, most say not to kick them out. We have to identify all the ramifications of that."
The already complex issue was exacerbated by Karl Rove and other Republicans who made it a wedge issue in the 2006 election, Cannon said. He suggested it was a reason Democrats picked up seats.
"Many of the people who lost seats were harsher on immigration," he said.
Cannon said he opposed President Bush on the comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate last year because it was misguided, saying it was written by Rep. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
But without immigration reform, corruption could increase as ICE targets some businesses and not others.
"There's a tendency for corruption to increase in an area where there is uneven enforcement of laws," Cannon said. "That's a federal issue."
Cannon has long been attacked from the right as being a supporter of amnesty, but he again said he is not.
"Amnesty has a definition," he said. "Let's not do amnesty, but let's do the possible."
Sending all undocumented workers back to their native countries is not possible, he said.
He said the solution must include creation of a workable program that allows businesses to check whether workers are documented or not.
"The (Basic Employment Verification) Pilot Program doesn't work," he said. "If you're going to enforce against businesses that hire illegal aliens, you have to have a program so a business can do so. ... You have to make it possible."
Cannon added that he previously has supported efforts in Utah to join state and federal enforcement agencies against illegal immigration.
"I supported then-Salt Lake City Police Chief Ortega when he wanted to enter into an agreement with ICE's predecessor, the INS."
Salt Lake City eventually backed out of the proposal.
E-mail: twalch@desnews.com