From Judy Olsen comes a letter to the editor of the Deseret News suggesting a "Utah solution" to the dilemma of what to do for those immigrants who are here undocumented.
   If they lack a Social Security number, let them register for a Utah state I.D., Olsen suggests. She says there would be two benefits. "First, people would be given temporary work privileges without the need of falsifying or stealing Social Security numbers," she writes. "Second, the state could impose taxes roughly equivalent to what the rest of us pay in federal and state taxes, only the money would stay in Utah."
   I like Olsen's idea. I like it that we should make it possible for them to work legally. I like it that we should get them to pay taxes, the same as the rest of us. No more working under the table.
   But, there is a problem. Once they are on the rolls, doesn't ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) come looking for them?
   Utah already has a Driver Privilege Card that is issued to the undocumented, should they want it. That program, began in 2005, allows them to get drivers' insurance, and thus reduces the number of uninsured motorists. The program calls for them not to be identified to ICE, but there is question as to whether ICE does get enough information that it can identify them. Federal law enforcement offices do have access to who has driving privileges. Although the records don't distinguish between regular drivers and those with the Driver Privilege Cards, at least one immigration attorney, Aaron Tarin, has suggested he has seen an "undeniable statistical pattern" of ICE detaining immigrants after they renew their cards. (This, from a Sept. 1, 2017, Deseret News article.)
   But, if you already have the cards, why not expand the program to what Olsen is calling for?
   Now, this is a big deal. Giving undocumented immigrants the right to work and the ability to pay taxes in their own name probably has never been done. Utah was one of the first, if not the first, to offer the Driver Privilege Cards, so that, too, was a big deal.
   I wonder on Olsen's suggestion. I wonder on whether instead of just doing it, we should get the federal government to sign off on it. All we would need is their approval that we not turn the names over to them. We are not granting immigrants the right to stay. The federal government will still be coming after them. None of that changes. The law is still the law and immigrants are still subject to all the laws that deport them. They are not getting a free pass to stay in this country. The only difference is that while they are here, they are paying taxes and not working under the table.
   Those are things that everyone should want.

America is not just a country, but an ideal

I believe in the American flag
I believe in a flag that waves not just for its own, but for all the world
I believe in the stars and stripes
I believe in stars that shine over all the world, not just America
And in stripes representing valor and purity
Valor is not courage if it hides from helping others
And purity is not pure if it thinks only of its own
Bless America, for it is not just a country, but an ideal
Not just a nation, but the nation that sets the standard for what nations should be

America is an Ideal, and Ideals Must be Shared

   I see a picture of what could easily represent a globe-shaped light, wrapped in an American flag motif, with the stars covering the northern hemisphere, and the stripes covering the southern. 
   And, I think how so it is with America. Our flag is not limited to our country, but stands as a beacon to all the world. If it waves, it waves not just to its own, but to those around the globe. If it lights, it lights not only this land, but all the world. 
   Forgive, but I believe not so much in an America First, but rather in an America for Everyone; not in an America that is selfish, but in an America that shares. America is the land of ideals, and, those ideals are bigger than the nation itself. It could be said that, inherent to having ideals is the sharing of them. So, I believe in an America that shares, and in an America that cares, and an America that dares to help the oppressed, instead of an America that fears if it helps others, it will destroy and ruin the nation. I believe in helping the oppressed from other countries, even if it means opening our borders to the portion of them who are truly in need. Now, you can hardly open your arms to love them without opening your borders to let them in. Letting them in is the way of loving them. Forgive me for being so political with you on this Fourth of July, and forgive me if you do not agree, but this is what America is to me. It is freedom and justice for all -- for all the world. America is an ideal, and the ideal must be shared, for in order to live your ideals, you must share them.

Freedom does not give itself borders

   "I will give my freedom as far as the Swanee River, but I refuse to help those who come from beyond," Freedom never said.
 

When You Enter an Entity, You become Subject to its Laws

   When the immigrant enters the U.S., he becomes subject to U.S. law. And, we start reminding him how important Rule of Law is.
   But, how important is international law? Do we feel we, as a country, should abide international law on providing asylum to immigrants?
   When the U.S. entered membership in the U.N., it became subject to international law. Just as we should expect the immigrant to abide the laws of the country he enters, so we should expect us, as a country, to abide the laws of the organization we enter.
   If we believe in Rule of Law, let us believe in it in both cases.

If freedom means the right to move from one place to another freely, if it includes the right to choose where one will live, then what of the immigrant? Is he to be outlawed when he reaches a border?

Heroes like those in 'Chariots of Fire'

   Highlight from church today? They played a little bit of Chariots of Fire, in which Scottish runner Eric Liddell refuses to run in the Olympics on a Sunday, when his 100-meter race is scheduled. A teammate offers to let him run in his spot on another day, but it is in the 400-meters. Now, 100-meter sprinters do not translate well as 400-meter runners, as that takes an endurance they are not familiar with. But, the same, Liddell wins.

   I never saw Chariots of Fire, but I read how it is also about Harold Abrahams, a Jewish Englishman who runs to overcome prejudice.

   Now, here's my thought: Wouldn't it be neat if such figures as Liddell and Abrahams were heroes of ours? What if schools had a course on heroes such as these? I will tell you I cannot name too many heroes along this line, but wish I could. Joan of Arc comes to mind.