SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s junior senator is looking to address the state’s worker shortage by bringing more migrants to Utah—and any other states that may want to participate.
On Monday, Utah Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) introduced federal legislation that would create a state-run migrant worker program.
“I’ve heard time and again from small business owners, farmers, and ranchers across Utah how difficult it has become to hire enough workers to meet growing market demands,” Curtis stated in a news release.
Curtis pointed to a 2025 report from the Sutherland Institute that said there are “72 available workers for every 100 open jobs.”
How would the migrant program work?
The bill would allow participating states to sponsor 5,000 visas per fiscal year.
States would also be able to sponsor additional visas from a larger pool based on their population, compliance with the program, and changes in the US’s gross domestic product.
Curtis’s office said the bill would “ensure accountability” by requiring states to continually assess workforce needs, report any noncompliance from participants, track the employment and addresses of participants, and prevent the displacement of American workers.
“Participating states would determine which workers or investors they sponsor while remaining responsible for monitoring compliance with program requirements,” Curtis’s office wrote in a news release.
The program would also create a pathway to legal status for migrants who have been living in the US since Dec. 31, 2016. To be eligible, migrants would have to provide documentation proving their time in the US, pay a $1,000 penalty and undergo a background check.
Backlash from conservatives
The announcement of the legislation caused backlash from conservatives in Utah and nationally, who accused Curtis of prioritizing immigrants over American-born workers.
The Utah Federation of College Republicans said the legislation completely disregarded Utahns who just graduated college and sent a request to Curtis’s office to meet about the bill.
Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren called Curtis a traitor to American workers.
Jason Chaffetz, who served as the representative for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District until 2017, said the bill should be rejected.
Salt Lake Chamber President and CEO Derek Miller told the Deseret News that the legislation doesn’t preclude the state from prioritizing American workers, but it does allow more people into the US who want to work.
“We can say that we need more people here legally to work and we can say priority ought to be given to US citizens; these don’t have to be mutually exclusive,” he told the outle
