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GUEST: Roberto Rodriguez, columnist with the Column of the Americas, doctoral student at University of Wisconsin

President Bush plans to work with Congress on an overhaul of immigration laws, according to two Cabinet officials earlier this week. Carlos Gutierrez, the Commerce Secretary, told the Senate Judiciary committee that the Bush administration’s priority is to secure the nation’s borders and convince the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants to “come out of the shadows.” To convince them to do so, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, conducted sweeping raids of immigrants across the country, in one of the largest operations of its kind in history. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff has been waging his own campaign on immigration reform, meeting with many members of Congress, taking them on tours of the US-Mexico border, and testifying at an immigration hearing. The hearing follows a renewed behind-the-scenes push by the White House to get a comprehensive overhaul passed before 2008 presidential and congressional campaigning swings into high gear.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Ministry of Culture and IMIX Bookstore present: WE SAY NO! How would you knock down a 700 mile border in two minutes?

WE SAY NO! is an open mike video forum which will record each and every person who wishes to express their views — in two minutes — on the proposed United States/ Mexico border fence. The public is invited to speak out on Sunday, March 4th from Noon to 4:00 pm at the IMIX Bookstore in Eagle Rock. Located at 5052 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles 90041The collected footage will then be edited to be part of a documentary on immigration issues and snippets will be used online for educational and publicity purposes to highlight this extremely volatile issue.