Candidates for Utah’s 1st Congressional District faced off at the Eccles Conference Center at Utah State University on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
The event was organized by the Utah Debate Commission and moderated by Natalie Gochnour, who is an associate dean in the David Eccles School of Business and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.
While there were many important issues discussed, immigration is one that has been top of mind for voters with the upcoming election.
The candidates participating in the debate were Bill Campbell (D), Daniel Cottam (L), and incumbent Blake Moore (R). They were directed to the topic of immigration, in light of the inability by Congress to agree on immigration reform, and were then asked what they would do to address the issue if elected.
Cottam went first, saying the issue of immigration is really not so complex. The solution he shared was simply to make more work visas available for immigrants.
Cottam said allowing more doctors, lawyers, and engineers into the U.S. would ultimately have a positive impact on the country. He said the U.S. will continue to see illegal immigration until we recognize the need for skilled immigrant workers and provide more avenues for them to enter the country legally.
“We can't live in the United States without this type of support," Cottom said, "and so we should acknowledge that and give out a lot more worker visas that can come and go. We should have a big wall and a big door that swings both ways.”
Candidate Moore followed by calling for an initial crackdown on border security. He referred to a bipartisan effort that unraveled earlier this year which aimed to create a comprehensive immigration package. The agreement fell apart after Republicans withdrew, and Kamala Harris has since pledged to revive this agreement as part of her campaign platform.
Moore said the package was missing key aspects, such as reimplementing the Remain in Mexico policy and ending the “catch and release” border policy. He said that increased border security was the first step needed before implementing more welcoming border policies.
“I have not been able to see my Democrat colleagues be willing to actually enact effective border policy," Moore said. "We need that change to happen. And if the Senate actually changes to Republican hands this time, you're going to see a potential of being able to force this along.”
Campbell was last to respond, saying that the failure of the bipartisan immigration package was a travesty. He said that while the package was certainly not perfect, it was an improvement, and he would have liked to see it progress.
Campbell agreed with Moore that the Remain in Mexico policy was a better strategy than what is currently in place. At the end of his remarks, he made sure to emphasize he did in fact support legal immigration, stating it was a part of the nation’s DNA. But he said the country needs to take a better approach.
“I think we need to interact better with the immigrants once they get here," Campbell said. "The way they were just dispersed throughout the country was not a properly managed effort. We need to better assimilate them here. We need to have better control and accountability of the process going forward.”
Thanks for joining us on Election Day. You can find results and reporting here.
