Mormon Leader: Obama’S Immigration Plan Matches Lds Values

[smac97]

Here:

President Barack Obama’s outline for immigration reform matches the values of the Mormon faith, according to Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the LDS Church’s governing First Presidency.

Uchtdorf joined 13 other faith leaders in a meeting with Obama on Friday, where the president asked them to support a reform effort that would streamline the legal immigration system and create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

"He just said in this value process we need to stand together and make sure the United States is still a place where people can come and, once they come, feel not at fear. And do it, of course, in a lawful way," Uchtdorf told The Salt Lake Tribune in a brief interview as he left the White House. "He was talking about his principles and what he said was totally in line with our values."

Uchtdorf’s comments and his involvement in the meeting are the strongest indications yet that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sympathetic to a reform effort that many Mormon politicians, including all of Utah’s members of Congress, have so far rejected. Utah’s two Senate and four House members have rejected efforts that they believe offer illegal immigrants amnesty.

...

Uchtdorf expressed his view that the government should respond with compassion to undocumented immigrants who have a long history in this country.

"My personal feeling there is the United States over the last couple of decades, even de facto, encouraged others to come, you know, to work in the fields in California, or Arizona or Texas, some of those have been here for 30 years," he said. "They are bishops in our church, but they never became legal residents because the system was not right for it and all of a sudden we are having changes even though they were more or less invited here to come because their work was needed."

Still, Uchtdorf said he believes a different standard may apply for more recent immigrants who did not arrive through legal channels.

"If someone is coming now to the U.S. or in the last couple of years they know they should come the legal way," he said.

Interesting stuff.

-Smac

[Gillebre]

Very Interesting, indeed.

[blackstrap]

Did the US not do an amnesty thing a couple decades ago? Now there are another 11 million to give amnesty to. When that happens,I suspect that in a couple more decades it will have to happen again. Why come in legally when all that is needed is to wait a bit? I keep hearing stories of people who waited patiently for legal acceptance and were rejected because of some undotted ' i ' or uncrossed 't' yet those who walked /crawed/jumped/swam in get moved up.

Canada has similar problems. Once someone gets on Canadian soil it is EXTREMELY difficult to remove them.We have folks here who have been ordered deported and yet are still here years later , and they are CRIMINALS both from abroad and from Canada.

Stupid %^$#$@ govt %^%$&^ political thread $^&%##@ .

Arguing political positions will result in removal of post or poster.

[Sevenbak]

It's because it's been prophesied of by Isaiah, Micah, Nephi, Christ and Mormon. It will happen, best be on the right side when it does.

14 And the Father hath ^acommanded me that I should give unto you this ^bland, for your inheritance.

15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not ^arepent after the^bblessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—

16 Then shall ye, who are a ^aremnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young ^blion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both ^ctreadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Sevenbak

[Bikeemikey]

It is interesting that the only non-US apostle was the one sent to talk on a US politics subject on behalf of the church.

[emarkp]

Of course, what Obama says often has nothing to do with actual legislation.

And Uchtdorf is wrong on this point. But nobody's perfect.

[Duncan]

Well, the article headline sounds like the Trib's words and not Pres. Uchtdorf's. If he represented the Church on this issue and gave the Church's position on immigration I think he would have read a statement, but this sounds liek he gave his own opinion and he happens to be in the First Presidency so it's his own and not what teh Church generally believes

[volgadon]

Of course, what Obama says often has nothing to do with actual legislation.

And Uchtdorf is wrong on this point. But nobody's perfect.

President Uchtdorf is absolutely right on this point, it is just a shame that Obama hasn't implemented his promised reforms.

[rpn]

But we don't really know exactly what was said, nor exactly what Elder Uchtdorf was referring to as being consistent with lds values.

[Calm]

Looks like we'll get more info soon: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865575314/President-Obama-meets-with-President-Uchtdorf-other-faith-leader-about-immigration.html

Deseret News reporter Joseph Walker interviewed President Uchtdorf earlier today, and his in-depth report about the meeting is forthcoming.

[volgadon]

It is interesting that the only non-US apostle was the one sent to talk on a US politics subject on behalf of the church.

How many of the other apostles have had to go through the immigration process in the US?

[blackstrap]

I apologize for my rant. I eagerly await " the rest of the story " . I'm sure there are two stories for every side.

[tyler90az]

It's because it's been prophesied of by Isaiah, Micah, Nephi, Christ and Mormon. It will happen, best be on the right side when it does.

14 And the Father hath ^acommanded me that I should give unto you this ^bland, for your inheritance.

15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not ^arepent after the^bblessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—

16 Then shall ye, who are a ^aremnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young ^blion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both ^ctreadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Are you trying to tell me that immigrants will tread us down and tear us in pieces?

[volgadon]

Are you trying to tell me that immigrants will tread us down and tear us in pieces?

[tyler90az]

Of course, what Obama says often has nothing to do with actual legislation.

And Uchtdorf is wrong on this point. But nobody's perfect.

Which point is he wrong on?

[JeremyOrbe-Smith]

Heh. I'm half Native American and Hispanic from my dad, and half Irish, English, and German from my mom, and I gotta say, it always feels a little surreal in these types of arguments when one part of my cultural heritage imposes on other parts, telling them that unless they get the proper papers they can't move back to land that was essentially stolen from them. As usual, I like the people on both sides of the argument, even when they're both acting like complete schmoes. Can't we all just get along? Flower power, dudes.

Meanwhile, Uchtdorf continues to be a rockstar.

[Stargazer]

Heh. I'm half Native American and Hispanic from my dad, and half Irish, English, and German from my mom, and I gotta say, it always feels a little surreal in these types of arguments when one part of my cultural heritage imposes on other parts, telling them that unless they get the proper papers they can't move back to land that was essentially stolen from them. As usual, I like the people on both sides of the argument, even when they're both acting like complete schmoes. Can't we all just get along? Flower power, dudes.

Meanwhile, Uchtdorf continues to be a rockstar.

Amen to that.

And he didn't even have to talk about airplanes!

[Darren10]

Heh. I'm half Native American and Hispanic from my dad, and half Irish, English, and German from my mom

But you're fully American, yes? Thats what counts.

they can't move back to land that was essentially stolen from them

Spare me, dude. Everybody's land was stolen from them. The trick is to keep it once you have it.

As usual, I like the people on both sides of the argument, even when they're both acting like complete schmoes. Can't we all just get along? Flower power, dudes.

Meanwhile, Uchtdorf continues to be a rockstar.

Peace, dude.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Darren10

[tyler90az]

The US needs to have a real and reliable legal path to citizenship. Also the benefits of legally coming to America need to outweight benefits of illegally coming to America.

Make the following policies very clear to people in foreign countries and US citizens.

Tighten up even more on employers who employ illegal immigrants.

Also anybody who houses an illegal immigrant should get in trouble.

Anybody who in anyway helps an illegal cross the border gets a felony.

Automatic 3 months in jail for any caught illegal immigrant and lose any chance of ever becoming a legal citizen. Get caught again and you go to jail for a year. Then everytime after that another year.

Ilegals can not have drivers license if busted driving the car is permanetly impounded regardless of whose it is.

Ilegals can receive ZERO benefits from any government agency.

There should be very little medical care given to illegal immigrants(be reasonable).

Advertise a hotline to report illegal aliens. It would make them fearful of every being in the country if they know about it.

Illegals 16-17 will automatically be sent back.

No enrollment in any education programs not even elementary.

Every police agency must have atleast two police officers/detetives(whatever) dedicated to finding illegal immigrants.

ICE and Border Security need to ramp up illegal immigrant searches

Current illegals with no criminal records get citizenship if the following any of following apply - these only apply for illegals in country now

Any illegal alien who joins the military or commits to getting an associates or technical becomes a citizen.

Anybody under 18 and both parents(only if active in childs life) or whoever takes care of them beome citizens.

If they can prove they are working they get a visa and if they are still working in two years they become citizens.

Any illegal that does not require federal assistance gets a visa. Then after 2 more years of the same gets citizenship.

Legitimate proof that they have been in country more then five years and have paid taxes the whole time.

Any person over 60 becomes citizen or major health problems.

Potential Immigrants

All must take drug tests before becoming eligible.

They must have clean record in their home country.

Then any people who try to immigrant legally should get citizenship if they are willing to join military.

They should also get citizenship if they get accepted into a university or have a degree or skill from a foreign college.

A potential immigrant can also gain a visa if he shows proof of work waiting in the USA and then after a year of continuous work gets permanent citizenship.

They must be required to take a few english classes(if they do not already know). If they are unable to learn it they can still be citizens, they tried. To help be able to get job.

If they speak good english and have a clean record in there home country they get moved to head of line to become citizens.

You can buy citizenship for you and anybody else(it would be a high amount). This money would go to helping more become citizens free and stimulate economy because theoretically they would be rich.

They need to be given legitimate hope they will get in. The less illegals who come in the more who try legally get in.

Those who get citizenship get all benefits of citizenship. Things such as fedel pell grants and so on.

You should not have to pay anything to become legal the right way

Allow more immigrants in then every before in history.

*The permit allows them get drivers licenses and everything an American citizen would get.

What I just said saddens the heck out of me. Although it may seem harsh the positives of illegally coming to America outweight the negatives. I do not know if I would ever be able to personally sign off on that, even know it would work.

Edited March 9, 2013 by tyler90az

[Darren10]

Here:

President Barack Obama’s outline for immigration reform matches the values of the Mormon faith, according to Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the LDS Church’s governing First Presidency.

Uchtdorf joined 13 other faith leaders in a meeting with Obama on Friday, where the president asked them to support a reform effort that would streamline the legal immigration system and create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

"He just said in this value process we need to stand together and make sure the United States is still a place where people can come and, once they come, feel not at fear. And do it, of course, in a lawful way," Uchtdorf told The Salt Lake Tribune in a brief interview as he left the White House. "He was talking about his principles and what he said was totally in line with our values."

Uchtdorf’s comments and his involvement in the meeting are the strongest indications yet that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sympathetic to a reform effort that many Mormon politicians, including all of Utah’s members of Congress, have so far rejected. Utah’s two Senate and four House members have rejected efforts that they believe offer illegal immigrants amnesty.

...

Uchtdorf expressed his view that the government should respond with compassion to undocumented immigrants who have a long history in this country.

"My personal feeling there is the United States over the last couple of decades, even de facto, encouraged others to come, you know, to work in the fields in California, or Arizona or Texas, some of those have been here for 30 years," he said. "They are bishops in our church, but they never became legal residents because the system was not right for it and all of a sudden we are having changes even though they were more or less invited here to come because their work was needed."

Still, Uchtdorf said he believes a different standard may apply for more recent immigrants who did not arrive through legal channels.

"If someone is coming now to the U.S. or in the last couple of years they know they should come the legal way," he said.

Interesting stuff.

-Smac

All I know is that the LDS church issued a statement affirming the necessity to keep families of illegal immigrants together. The letter, as I recall, confused me. Don't people who get sent to prison get physically torn apart? Those who are waiting deportation await in US prisons. I imagine that, like any other prisoner, they may receive visitors. This includes illegal immigrants who broke other US laws while here in the US. It is not bad morals from Americans which tear illegal immigrant families apart save how the US courts have intepreted the 14th Amendment. That amendment was written to provide a save haven for slaves and their children, ergo, those forced to come and live here. But, because of the wording, the US courts over the last several decades have held that anyone born on US soil is an automatic legal citizen of this country. What does this do? This creates a situation where the parents are illegal immigrants and may very well get deported while their children legally may not be deported. The result is at least one parent getting shipped off back to their homeland and their children remaining in the US either with the other parent or with extended family members. Had the courts not become active in dictating the meaning of the 14th Amendement to the effect of granting citizenship to all people born on US soil legal citizen status, this tearing apart of families will not likely be so prevelant.

I for one support very strong border enforcement and from there look into providing a "pathway to citizenship" for illegals, including granting them amnesty preluding that determination. I very much support the Gang of 8's outline for a plan to overhaul the US immigration system. This plan has been purported and touted by Marco Rubio whom I greatly admire and overall support what his position is in this overhaul. While for me it is not ideal in the strictest sense, it does include measures to assure order and enforcement whereas Obama's plan utterly lacks it. One particular difference is that under Marco Rubio's vision, the border states are to declare the borders secure. This declaration will be made by the respective state's attorney general and will include sort of committees. By giving this decision making power to the states, the people are much more closely involed in the decision. Therefore, people like me who have strong concerns over border safety, can voice apporval or dissent based upon what I learn. Under Obama's plan, the power to declare the borders safe would likely rest with the federal government and good luck with that. That would guarantee that my concerns as impotent.

Overall President Uchtdorf, I think, needs to tread carefully. Were I get to ask him questions I'd ask if the release of thousands of illegal immigrants from legal detention and a general restraint by executive power also fall in line with the LDS church's values. For that is precisely what is happening under President Obama. Would allowing illegal immigrants here to stay here while waiting legal status while legal immigrants wait in their own homeland (which by law they should be) fall in line with LDS values? This is very tricky to answer in the name of the Church.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Darren10

[BlueDreams]

All I know is that the LDS church issued a statement affirming the necessity to keep families of illegal immigrants together. The letter, as I recall, confused me. Don't people who get sent to prison get physically torn apart?

I'll avoid politics as much as possible. But speaking as one who has a ton of friends and family that have immigrated to the U.S. Recently....generally for schooling that then stayed or with other family members. I can honestly say it's no where near the same in comparison. The laws are convoluted and can leave families spread out all over. Many families have differing citizenship status with citizens, residents, and undocumented members all under one roof. It leads to problems. And for those that Uchtdorf talks about, such as children who've lived in the U.S. most of their lives the process to properly enter is crazy! At least, I thought it was when a fellow missionary told me what he'd have to do (go to mexico where he'd never been, to family he'd never really met, live there for a few years and hope the paper work flies so that he could return home). Most of those I know are legal visitors/residents. And it's honestly some sticky (EXPENSIVE and LONG and STRAINING) stuff.

But more than anything to me the statement is fairly easy to figure out: family is primary above all else. That's the

backbone of good communities and good society. Keeping those in tact and healthy should be of primary concern.

Would allowing illegal immigrants here to stay here while waiting legal status while legal immigrants wait in their own homeland (which by law they should be) fall in line with LDS values?

Oh, and it doesn't necessarily follow that (false) dichotomy between legal and illegal.

With luv,

BD

Edited March 9, 2013 by BlueDreams

[BlueDreams]

Amen to that.

And he didn't even have to talk about airplanes!

Don't worry, he'll mention it in the in-depth interview. Something about him flying here I'm sure. Maybe even giving the pilot some better flying tips along the way

Edited March 9, 2013 by BlueDreams

[Duncan]

I'll avoid politics as much as possible. But speaking as one who has a ton of friends and family that have immigrated to the U.S. Recently....generally for schooling that then stayed or with other family members. I can honestly say it's no where near the same in comparison. The laws are convoluted and can leave families spread out all over. Many families have differing citizenship status with citizens, residents, and undocumented members all under one roof. It leads to problems. And for those that Uchtdorf talks about, such as children who've lived in the U.S. most of their lives the process to properly enter is crazy! At least, I thought it was when a fellow missionary told me what he'd have to do (go to mexico where he'd never been, to family he'd never really met, live there for a few years and hope the paper work flies so that he could return home). Most of those I know are legal visitors/residents. And it's honestly some sticky (EXPENSIVE and LONG and STRAINING) stuff.

But more than anything to me the statement is fairly easy to figure out: family is primary above all else. That's the

backbone of good communities and good society. Keeping those in tact and healthy should be of primary concern.

Oh, and it doesn't necessarily follow that (false) dichotomy between legal and illegal.

With luv,

BD

I agree. Pres. Ucthdorf knows exactley a thing or two about immigration as his country and the rest of Europe wasn't exactley well defined after WW2. it was a huge mess. My own father came from Germany to here in the late 50's, legally of course.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Duncan

[Sevenbak]

Are you trying to tell me that immigrants will tread us down and tear us in pieces?

Something to that effect. If we want to be realists from a scriptural point of view, this is their promised land, we are guests. It will be they who build the New Jerusalem, with our help. Now that said, us Gentiles who have joined the church are adopted into their promises and blessings, but in general terms, it is the seed of Jacob that the promises are made to, not the Gentiles.

[thesometimesaint]

President Uchtdorf is absolutely right on this point, it is just a shame that Obama hasn't implemented his promised reforms.

Without getting too political President Obama is limited in what he can do as President. It is Congress that has to get off its duff and fix the problem.