MyDesert: Jerry Brown Joins V. Manuel Perez, Members of CA Latino Caucus for Immigration Forum

By: Tatiana Sanchez

California Gov. Jerry Brown joined Senator Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, and Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella, for a forum on comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday, hosted by the state’s Latino Legislative Caucus.

The forum covered the historical aspect of immigration and provided an analysis of comprehensive immigration reform from policy experts, business leaders and community organizers, according to Perez’s office.

Among some of the presenters were immigration analyst Arnold Torres, Diana Tellefson Torres, national vice president of the United Farm Workers and Reshma Shamasunder, executive director for the California Immigrant Policy Center.

The forum was also a place to voice concerns.

“With our large immigrant population and an economy so reliant on the immigrant workforce, California has an important role to play in helping to shape the immigration reform debate,” said Pérez, chair of the Latino Caucus Taskforce on Immigration Reform.

The taskforce was formed in February by the California Latino Legislative Caucus— a group of members from the State Senate and Assembly who identify issues affecting Latinos — to lead conversations on comprehensive immigration reform.

“Today’s briefing, with its diverse stakeholder perspectives, has helped enrich understanding, promote dialogue, and find areas of common ground that will help the Immigration Taskforce focus on key policy elements within the debate where the Latino Caucus can engage with a unified voice,” Pérez said.

There are 2.6 million undocumented immigrants in California, with 259,000 of those in the Inland Empire, according to a recent report by the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration.

Tuesday’s forum was not televised, but a recording of the forum is available online.

Pérez’s staff is looking at hosting a similar immigration discussion in the desert. Details are still being worked out, Wilson said.

To read our in-depth look at immigration issues in the Coachella Valley, ’Faces of Immigration,’ visit www.mydesert.com/immigration.

Contact the Reporter: tatiana.sanchez@thedesertsun.com