In perhaps the first salvo in a Presidential or Vice Presidential run, Arizona Junior Senator Ruben Gallego unveiled a comprehensive immigration reform plan on social media on May 12, 2025 that he hopes will garner bipartisan support.
Since putting out his proposal, the Senator has been making the rounds on media networks including Fox and CNN.
Called “Securing the Border and Fueling Economic Prosperity,” Senator Gallego started his presentation by stating the obvious:
“Our border and immigration systems are broken.”
Blaming politics for Congressional inaction (Republicans have stymied at least three attempts at either Comprehensive Immigration Reform or improving border security over the last 20 years) toward enacting comprehensive immigration reform, Gallego asserted that “It’s time to push forward and act and plan that works.”
After relaying how the Grand Canyon State has been shortchanged in resources that has allowed drug and human trafficking cartels to flourish, Gallego condemned a system that allows “criminals to slip through the cracks” while hardworking non citizen members of society “have no legal path to legal status” and have to wait for up to a decade to get a hearing.
Citing the example of his immigrant mother, Gallego relayed how immigrant communities on the Southern border have boosted the local economy with trade and business startups.
But Gallego also rightly asserted on the side of vibrant border security, saying “For these communities to thrive, we must have a secure border. As a Marine combat veteran, I’m serious about keeping this country safe and doing it without sacrificing our values. We don’t have to choose between border security and immigration reform. We can and should do both. We need to secure the southern border, reform our asylum system, expand legal pathways to citizenship, protect Dreamers, and tackle the reasons why people leave their homes in the first place. And who tells you that we can’t do? It all is selling America short.”
The Senator then described the five major pillars of his plan. They are:
- Secure the border, restore order, and keep our communities safe.
- Reform the Asylum System to End ‘Catch and Release.’
- Expand legal pathways to unleash economic prosperity.
- Bring people out of the shadows.
- Address root causes of immigration.
Senator Gallego concluded his presentation stating that “Americans have asked their leaders for common sense border and immigration solutions and it is time we finally act. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents know that our economy and national security depend on it. I’m willing to work across the aisle to get things done. There are areas I agree with President Trump and Congressional Republicans on. I’m inviting everyone to the table to look past politics, admit where we’ve gone wrong, and finally deliver solutions that this country deserves. Let’s get to work.”
While many of Gallego’s ideas in his plan have been outlined before in Comprehensive Immigration plans in both the Obama and Biden Administrations, his calls for all sides to come to the table and emphasis on placing border security first as a priority have drawn praise.
His Arizona Senate Colleague, Senator Mark Kelly, posted:
“Senator Ruben Gallego is right. Our border and immigration system need to be fixed, and these are the kinds of ideas to get it done. As border state senators, we’ve both seen these problems up close and know Arizonans want them solved. What we need is more folks in Washington willing to do something about it.”
Lanae Erickson, Senior Vice President for Social Policy, Politics & Education at Third Way, who just released an article on how Democrats can make immigration a positive issue for them, wrote of the Gallego proposal:
“If Democrats are going to regain the trust of the American people to handle immigration and the border, they need to show they’re taking the issue seriously and offer an alternative not just resistance.
Senator Gallego has outlined a sophisticated, thoughtful, and nuanced proposal which acknowledges the real problems we face, confronts chaos with action, and paints a picture of a future where order reigns. This is the path back to an America which is both a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. And it is a master class in reclaiming the issue for Democrats; the whole party should follow suit.”
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
So now that Trump has secured the border, Democrats are crying, “Secure the border!” because it no longer makes any difference because it’s now secure.
So then they go to step number two, which is amnesty for the millions who crossed into this country illegally or technically legally using bogus amnesty claims. No one‘s gonna buy that.
By the way, I read that 40% of the people here illegally did so by overstaying visas. Since these people are obviously not refugees fleeing violence, can we all agree that if you get a visa for a temporary stay and overstay it, you should be ejected from the country?
Hate to rain on your MAGA propaganda John but the border became secure when President Biden, after Republicans, again for the third time in 20 years welched on immigration reform, issued Executive Orders that cut off the flow of illegal crossings. Now your leader, the American Duce wannabe is trying to make up his shortfall (his numbers are actually less than Biden) by arresting innocent people or getting his prosecutors to drop charges so they can be detained under his new rules. That is so UnAmerican John. Your party has no credibility on this issue despite the fecal matter despite what individuals who have been fed parties diet of dis/misinformation believe. Your party needs people to hate so you can divert attention from all the ways you are screwing over the middle and working class. Have a great holiday weekend.
https://tracreports.org/reports/756/
Non-white immigrants are the modern day scapegoats. Guess the Repugs determined it was too toxic to carry on the Nazi tradition of scapegoating Jews.
Figure 2 on this page shows the border dried up under Trump. The facts do not lie. Read them and weep.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/100-days-of-immigration-under-the-second-trump-administration/
Also, do you agree that we should remove tourists and students who overstay their visas? They are not asylum seekers.
Sorry John. The same article you cite says “However, border flows dramatically declined in 2024.” That is during the Biden/Harris Administration and the trend continued, albeit under harsher and some would say counterproductive rules during the first weeks of Mr. Trump’s return. Sure tourists and students who overstay their visas without renewing them should not be allowed to stay. Duh although I would not classify them as hardened criminals or the worst of the worst. They did not commit crimes like business fraud or sexual assault or treason like Mr. Trump did.
The graph shut of the for itself. It was Trump who shut the border down. In addition, much of Biden‘s decrease was because he created an app so people could easily game the system with bogus asylum claims and their crossing would not be counted as an illegal entrance.
But can we at least agree that people who overstay tourist and student visas should be removed. What claim do they have?
John. You need to read my replies more carefully on tourists and student visas. I go for facts John and the fact is Biden deported more than Trump. Many news sources have reported it. Also, you still have not responded to previous requests about vouchers. Here is another one for you? How do you feel about Mr. Trump pardoning known criminals and reaching settlements with the parents of domestic terrorists while shipping off innocent people to El Salvador and investigating Congresspersons who have done nothing wrong other than exercise their rights? Please advise and take care.
I strongly support Sen
GALLEGO’S Immigration Reform Initiative. He knows first hand from his mother’s personal experience. DE/AZ
Unfortunately he choose to co-sponsor the Laken Riley Act which nicely sets up exactly what he is decrying now. Sort of shutting the barn door once the horse has fled, no? Arizona does NOT need another Sinema 2.0.