ABC15 recently hosted a roundtable discussion about immigration with various stakeholders from across Arizona.
Seven panelists attended:
- Jobe Dickinson, a former Tucson Police officer and President of the Border Security Alliance
- Frankie Jo Rios, President and CEO of the East Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Lydia Guzman, who's in charge of community outreach for the group Chicanos Por La Causa
- Karime Rodriguez, Director of Services for the group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA)
- Zachary Brugman, an immigration attorney and expert with Brugman Asylum Law & Appeals
- Ray Ybarra, an immigration attorney and expert with the Ybarra Maldanado Law Group
- Cecilia Garcia, Founder and CEO of One Hundred Angels, a Phoenix-based nonprofit supporting shelters and other services for those seeking asylum
In Part I, each participant outlines what they believe to be the top issues when it comes to immigration. From border security and reforms to the immigration process itself, and finding ways to help Congress work together to come up with solutions, the ABC15 panel covered a lot of ground.
Watch Part I:
In Part II of the immigration panel, ABC15's Nick Ciletti spoke to the panelists about border security and maintaining Arizona's important trade relationship with Mexico, and ultimately how to balance the two. The panelists may have differed slightly on solutions but actually had more in common than they did differently:
Watch Part II:
In the third and final installment of ABC15's panel on immigration, Ciletti speaks to the group about what they'd ultimately like to see as the future of immigration. For some in the group, it's about communicating with local leaders and leaders in Congress about what is really needed. For others, it's about breaking barriers, getting to know your neighbors, and having empathy for migrants. The group agreed on one thing - cutting through the political noise will ultimately be beneficial in solving these complex problems.
Part III:
