Our Journey to the Conventions

Like adolescents, or adults in the throes of a midlife crisis, our nation has been going through a �phase� these past few years�unable to come to a real solution for our broken immigration system, motivated more by anger, frustration, and denial than by reason, compassion, and pragmatism. And so as candidates hit the campaign trail�be it for town council or president of the United States�and officeholders take to the bully pulpit, they too often ride the immigration train�taking a hard-line law-and-order stance that feeds into people�s legitimate concerns in the worst possible way�or they tiptoe around the issue.

And so we�ve decided it�s our turn now to drive that train, and perhaps inject some fresh perspective into the debate. We�re hitting the road to the conventions, and making stops along the way to see how the immigration debate plays out in locales across the country. As towns across the nation confront the challenges of changing demographics, we know there has to be a way to tap into the American people�s positive and creative energy and to bring forth more thoughtful and nuanced approaches than our pundits and politicos are inclined toward.

We don�t deny that something�s wrong with the way things stand now. You cannot have 12 million people living in the shadows, acknowledged with a wink and a nod and trotted out as red meat when it�s politically expedient to do so, and pretend that we are a nation of laws. We don�t pretend that there aren�t challenges that come with changing demographics. We don�t pretend that people�s concerns are unfounded. But we think there are more productive ways to address these issues than by maintaining the status quo, which is untenable, by continuing to beat a drumroll for enforcement, which is ineffectual, or by taking an us-against-them stance�the house-divided approach seldom works.

America has a myriad of traditions that run the gamut from restrictionist to ecumenical. The restrictionist end of that spectrum has taken precedence of late, and we�re no better off for it. As we journey to the conventions, we aim to share stories from across the nation that might, we hope, bring us to a fuller understanding of what�s at play in the immigration debate and avenues we might take to drive that debate in a more positive and productive direction. We look forward to taking this journey with you!