UPDATE as of MARCH 12, 2010

The National Conversation on Comprehensive Immigration Reform is slowly beginning. The President met yesterday with Senators Charles Schumer (NY) and Lindsey Graham (SC) to discuss their ideas for a comprehensive immigration reform bill. All gave their verbal support to fix the nation’s broken immigration system, but substantial obstacles still remain: completion of health care reform, the narrowing window for debate given the mid-term elections, and finding a second Senate Republican co-sponsor. Still, we await an actual bill to be introduced in the Senate to concretely begin the conversation. This will require both parties to set aside mid-term election concerns.


The White House and Democratic leadership must decide to expend actual political capital, and some Republicans must chose to work in a bi-partisan manner and get behind Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation. Our strategic work continues to be to build a non-partisan constituency to support passage of national legislation. Civic Academies continue throughout the state and Arizonans for Immigration Reform leaders have been in constant contact with members of the Arizona Congressional Delegation. We are also heavily focused on opposing dangerous state legislation that further targets the undocumented.