A time of Thanksgiving: reflections on the Utah Compact.

• Author: Gochour, Natalie
• Position: Economic Insight

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more."--Melody Beattie

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Three years ago this month, a large and diverse group of community leaders gathered at the Utah State Capitol to affix their names to The Utah Compact. For those in attendance, the Utah sun beamed a little brighter that day as our community adopted a more gracious approach to the complex issue of immigration reform. Since then, Utah has followed a more compassionate, constructive and civil immigration discussion that has lifted Utah to a higher, better place and set an example for others. For this we can all be grateful.

A few days after the signing of the Compact, a grandmother from Farmington submitted a letter to the Deseret News Readers' Forum that captured the spirit of the document:

"I don't know much about politics except the sick feeling I get inside when there is constant arguing. I don't know economics except I pay my bills and I keep a balanced checkbook. I don't know how to settle debates, but I know a peaceful heart when I have one. I felt it when I read the Utah Compact."

Her sentiment was echoed a few days later in a New York Times editorial on the Compact that said, "A clearer expression of good sense and sanity than Utah's would be hard to find." Later, a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board noted Utah's Ronald Reagan-like support of free-market principles in finding an immigration solution.

Building off this momentum, the Utah Legislature passed landmark legislation in the 2011 Legislative Session that balanced the need for improved enforcement with the very real economic and human needs associated with immigration reform. A dozen other states have borrowed from or flat out copied the Compact.

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For people like me who have trafficked in public policy in this town for a long time, it's difficult to explain the reach and success of The Utah Compact. In less than 250 words, it set a new direction for what before had been an intractable issue. Simple, short, value-based and inspirational, it called out five principles: federal solutions, public safety, families, the economy and free society. From this, a harmonization occurred. Community leaders became more collaborative, civil society became more civil and Capitol Hill discussions became more constructive.

Looking back, I believe the Compact's greatest...