CANNON DRUMS ON IMMIGRATION DESPITE VOTERS
By Kirsten Stewart

Favored to win re-election, Utah's senior congressman is more concerned about wooing Washington interests than his constituents, [immigration restrictionists] say.

Cannon's "AgJOBS" bill assures big business an unending supply of cheap labor, gives labor unions more workers to organize and scores points with the Bush administration, says Craig Nelsen of ProjectUSA, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting population control [sic].

"Immigration [reform] is a side effect of corporate greed and the money they send to pad politicians' campaign accounts," says Nelsen.

To Nelsen's point, a survey of Cannon's financial disclosures since 1996 shows Washington, D.C., and out-of-state interests steadily replacing his Utah support. Eight years ago, 85 percent of the individuals backing Cannon hailed from Utah; today locals comprise just 16 percent of his donor base.

A close look at who is giving also shows a sudden jump in contributions from immigration attorneys - 23 of whom have poured $20,900 into Cannon's war chest. Most of the donations were made after the preprimary financial disclosure deadline.

At least five of the attorneys serve on the executive committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which helped Cannon draft the "AgJOBS" bill. And all of them stand to benefit from a provision in the bill requiring that immigrants applying for amnesty be represented by a lawyer.

The bill also gives illegals who can't afford an attorney access to public money.

"Cannon is giving us a policy we don't want. He's receiving money for introducing it and he's allowing people profiting from it, the immigration lawyer industry, to charge the taxpayers for it," says Nelsen.

Cannon's legislation is unpopular in conservative Utah. A Salt Lake Tribune poll in May showed 71 percent of Utahns opposed or strongly opposed laws that make it easier for undocumented immigrants to live and work in the state.