Utahns Launch Online REPEAL HB116 Campaign

Members of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration, GOP delegates and over 4,700 concerned Utahns who petitioned Utah Governor Gary Herbert to veto HB116, today announced the launch of REPEAL HB116 (www.repeal116.com). The repeal campaign was created for the sole purpose of repealing Utah’s amnesty bill recently signed into law by Governor Herbert. Repeal HB116 was conceived to further educate the general public as well as current and future GOP delegates, and unite future candidates on the issue of immigration reform.

The campaign is specifically designed to put pressure on legislators who voted for HB116 and on Governor Herbert who signed the bill as it violates the GOP national, state, and county platform principles they agreed to uphold when they obtained their party’s nomination. The Repeal HB116 website includes an educational FAQ, videos, and an online petition that likeminded Utahns and individuals nationwide are encouraged to sign. To donate to Repeal HB116, go to www.americanleadershipfund.com.

According to GOP delegate coordinator Brandon Beckham, “Governor Herbert should not have signed the bill. The delegates now hope to emphasize the consequences of our elected officials’ actions while also encouraging them to step up and do the right thing—repeal HB116.”

Utah became a national target when it was discovered that Utah’s Attorney General Mark Shurtleff lobbied HB116 as a national model to a gathering of U.S. Attorney Generals and the Obama Administration. “It’s a shame the AG took this approach without statewide public support. The national momentum right now is perfect to stop this bill. Amnesty will always harm those who wait to enter this country legally,” commented Arturo Morales, founder of the Legal Immigrants for Illegal Immigration Enforcement coalition.

Lending credence to the adage “timing is everything,” U.S. Congressman Jason Chaffetz was recently attributed in the Salt Lake Tribune assaying, “...if he were governor he would have vetoed the bill [HB116].” In the same story, U.S. Senator Mike Lee further commented: “I know of no process in federal law that suggests that such a waiver could even be granted, nor do I know of any political inclination in Washington to let that happen…I don't want to disparage the well-intentioned state legislators for trying to do something. But this particular program is preempted.”

EDITORS NOTE: Repeal HB116 spokespersons Ron Mortensen at 801.683.9214, Arturo Morales-Llan at 801.368.3660 and/or Brandon Beckham at 801.358.6776.