Utah Creates Its Own Guestworker Program

The State of Utah has joined Arizona in passing laws that may well step on federal immigration prerogatives, but in a distinctly different direction. Arizona's laws were basically intended to scare workers away, whereas Utah has decided to move in a more positive direction, as noted in today's New York Times:

Utah’s package includes measures to tighten enforcement against illegal immigrants that echo Arizona’s tough stance — like a requirement that the police check the immigration status of anyone arrested on a felony or a serious misdemeanor charge.

But supporters said the hybrid package offered an alternative to states, including those controlled by Republicans, that are seeking to avoid the costly political polarization and legal challenges that followed Arizona’s law and that also want to recognize the need of some businesses for immigrant labor in spite of high unemployment nationally.

The guest worker bill came after intense lobbying by business and farm groups as well as by some immigrant advocates, and it enjoyed the quiet but all-important endorsement of the Mormon Church. It is likely to raise many of the same constitutional questions as the Arizona law, including whether it intrudes on areas of immigration law reserved exclusively for the federal government. Central provisions of Arizona’s law, known as S. B. 1070, were suspended by federal courts pending a lawsuit by the Obama administration.

But in contrast to Arizona’s approach, Utah lawmakers framed their bill to set up a negotiation, rather than a confrontation, between the governor and the federal authorities. Gov. Gary R. Herbert, a Republican who handily won election in November, is expected to sign the bill.

Under one bill approved on Friday, Utah would issue a two-year work permit to illegal immigrants who could prove that they had been living and working in the state. To qualify, immigrants would have to pass a criminal background check and pay fines of up to $2,500.

The bill gives the governor until 2013 to negotiate with federal immigration authorities for a waiver for the guest worker program. Under federal law, it is a violation for an employer to knowingly hire an illegal immigrant. If no waiver has been obtained by then, the guest worker program would go into effect anyway.

Europe Gets Even Less Immigrant Friendly

A report out today from the Associated Press details the various ways in which European nations have been making life ever harder for immigrants (in this case, legal ones) to get a job. The lead is about Italy, which now requires that workers demonstrate a knowledge of the Italian language before they can be issued a work permit.

Some immigrant advocates worry that as harsh economic times make it harder for natives to keep jobs, such measures will become more a vehicle for intolerance than integration. Others say it's only natural that newcomers learn the language of their host nation, seeing it as a condition to ensure they can contribute to society.

So far, Italy is only giving a gentle turn to the screw. Cojochru and other test-takers described the exam as easy. No oral skills were tested.

But the story from Italy is just the tip of the iceberg.

Canadian 2011 Census Will Be Short-Form Only

Preparations are well underway for the 2011 Census of Canada, which will be conducted in May. Following the lead of the United States, the long form has been abolished and only a small set of data will be obtained from each household. The questionnaires will be mailed out, but they can also be completed online. Statistics Canada has a pretty simple description of the process:

The questionnaire asks basic questions such as age, sex, marital status, relationship to others in the household and mother tongue. The paper questionnaire has enough space for answers from six people. If more than six people live in a household, call the Census Help Line for another questionnaire. It is important to count everyone.

Unfortunately, the decision last year to get rid of the long form was not a statistical or procedural one, but seems largely to have been driven by politics. The Conservative government appeared to feel that questions asked on the long form represented an invasion of privacy. 

Statistics Canada will, however, collect additional data:

The information previously collected by the long-form census questionnaire will be collected as part of the new voluntary National Household Survey (NHS). This questionnaire will cover most of the same topics as the 2006 Census.

The National Household Survey will be conducted within four weeks of the May 2011 Census and will include approximately 4.5 million households.