Alive and Kicking

"Immigration reform is not dead!" So said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) when interviewed on his memoir, "Still Standing: My Journey from the Barrio to Capitol Hill," released this week. It took two hours to tape a program with a final running time of forty-five minutes, because the congressman had to leave for a procedural vote on the floor of the House that was called earlier than expected. We were fortunate that the stars aligned to enable him and the program's host, Univision radio's Alfonso Aguilar, to return to the studio. The resulting interview was as impassioned as its subject, a U.S. Representative that needs a much better reason than an interview to miss a vote. Too bad other lawmakers won't leave the lights and cameras long enough to do something productive for their constituents. But I digress.

According to Rep. Gutierrez, proponents of immigration reform from both parties are meeting regularly, without fanfare, and without being dubbed a "Gang" of any kind or number. They are discussing actual, comprehensive solutions to a policy albatross that's weighed down many elected federal officials for ten to twenty years, depending upon who you talk to. That tidbit of news was a highlight of both an interview and an afternoon in the nation's otherwise-gridlocked capital. Times to catch the Gutierrez interview this weekend can be found at www.booktv.org.