Arizona governor meets with Obama

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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the controversial law allowing police to detain anyone without proper papers, met with President Barack Obama. They have both called the immigration system "broken," but they seem to have divergent strategies to deal with it. Obama calls the Arizona law "misguided"; Brewer didn't hesitate to sign it. Still, they pledge to work together to find a solution (see Arizona Republic).

Arizona at it again: Education, age, and politics in immigration

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The state of Arizona already has the toughest immigration laws on its books and now it's gone further. Governor Jan Brewer has signed a bill that greatly restricts ethnic studies in the Tucson School District, which tell some unpleasant truths about Mexicans in Arizona and the United States -- like we stole Arizona from Mexico and treat Mexicans unfairly (see NY Times).

Arizona passes anti-immigration law - UPDATE 4/23

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Last week the Arizona state house and senate passed the most restrictive state measure against undocumented immigrants. Already the state has among the most restrictive laws against hiring them. Now police can stop anyone in the state to ask for documented proof they are here legally.

Promises on immigration reform?

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On Saturday, April 10, I was in the Teamsters Hall on Ashland Avenue in Chicago's near West Side, along with more than 1,000 others - mostly Hispanics, but Chinese and Polish. We were there to ask Senator Dick Durbin, Assistant Majority leader of the U.S. Senate, to push comprehensive immigration reform through this year. He promised to do so and pointed to the behind-the-scenes negotiation of Senators Charles Schumer (D, NY) and Lindsey Graham (R, SC) to structure the architecture of a bill and introduce later this month.

Massive demonstration in Washington for immigration reform

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AgJobs: An essential part of immigration reform

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Most people when they hear proposals for immigration reform think about doing something about the 11 million “illegals” in this country. Solutions run from sending them back along with their U.S.-born kids to extending amnesty or “a pathway to citizenships” to the hard-working families. If you're with the church, you might extend reform to include a more generous admission process for family relatives of legal immigrant

Walking to justice with immigrants

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By guest blogger Nick Mele, a parishioner of the Church of the Assumption in Bellingham, Washington who blogged about a pilgrimage for comprehensive immigration reform that he took last summer. Like other "Catholic workers" featured in the February issue of U.S. Catholic, Mele found a creative way to address an issue that he is passionate about.

Bishops begin push for immigration reform

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Bishops John Wester of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Howard Hubbard of Albany, New York, announced a campaign by the bishops to urge Congress to pass comprehensive compassionate immigration reform soon (see statement of Bishop Wester). The campaign will include preaching and bulletin inserts to explain the bishops’ position. Catholic congregations will be urged to take action by sending post cards --1.5 million of which are already printed and distributed -- to send to representatives and senators.

New comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in U.S. House

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Rep. Luis Gutierrez introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 – its acronym CIR-ASAP. It has many Democratic co-sponsors, but was quickly dismissed by Republicans and some “blue dog” or conservative Democrats as DOA.

White House rally pushes for comprehensive immigration reform

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Thousands of immigrants and their supporters traveled to Washington to rally on the west lawn of the White House for comprehensive immigration reform. They had been meeting locally, listening to the stories of immigrants and their families.  Now in D.C. they were urging the president and Congress to move quickly.