Utah Group Wants Mexico to Halt Mormon Visas

They figure it’s the best way to get the attention of the State of Utah.

I’ll reserve any comment because I know little about the Mormons except for what I see on TV, and that can’t be right. In Utah though, the Mormon’s are a very strong force, political and otherwise. And within the LDS (Latter Day Saints) the concept of missionary work is key to their faith. It’s also become pretty hefty leverage.

This is how it all breaks down: Utah is set to consider state level immigration laws much like Arizona’s sb1070. But there are also many pro-immigrant folks within the state and the Mormon church. And the Mormon hierarchy has yet to make a definitive statement about the issue. So according to a Desert News report

Raúl López-Vargas (a Utah resident) says he has collected about 100 signatures on a petition that he plans to deliver to the Mexican Consulate of Salt Lake City on Monday. He is calling for Mexican President Felipe Calderón to sit down with the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ask them to take a concrete position on immigration.

López-Vargas said he believes the LDS Church has the power to influence Utah lawmakers. “They have to say something about this problem,” he said.

The Mormon Church’s silence, says López-Vargas, gives the impression that “the Church does not want immigrants in Utah.”

But that position is causing a rift within Latinos in Utah. Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, says that immigrants can be used in a positive manner to further their cause and resolve the immigration impasse in their state.

Last reports indidcate that López-Vargas’ plan has not changed.