Immigration Reform Discussion

Immigration Reform is a huge national debate and seems to be moving along faster than was predicted. With the mass rallies throughout America last weekend and the introduction of several pieces of legislation, I was not suprised when Mr. Dan Laidman, a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News called and wanted a comment on the immigration issue. He inquired about the Immigration Task Force that the National League of Cities formed with Los Angeles Councilman Dennis Zine as Chairman. The task force met in Washington, DC during the Congressional Cities Conference in March. Councilman Zine did a great job in leading this diverse task force towards a consensus of issues that NLC needs to address through our policy process. Dennis is a former Los Angeles Policeman and is of Lebenese decent. I've gotten to know him during several meetings and I find that he has a big heart and a great deal of compassion. He is also a no-nonsense type of guy and I don't think we could have picked a better chairman.

The interview lasted about twenty minutes and the reporter was very informed on the immigration issue. I asked the reporter what he thought was driving the debate in Los Angeles, since over 500,000 people took to the streets in LA last weekend. He said that he thought that Spanish radio and news outlets were driving the efforts. I commented that I was pleased that the efforts seem to be on raising awareness and abstaining from violence.

Earlier today, I had lunch with the high school students who were participating in "Shadow Government Day" in Clarksburg. As usual, this is a great program. The students are so enlightened and have a great respect for local government service. I enjoy giving the students some of the issues that our council faces and it is interesting how close they come to our own deliberations.