Still looking for plans this week? Check out the feature-length documentary by Juan González, "Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America." Recently released in select cities, the film looks at the role of U.S. policy, including immigration and the rise of the Latino population in the United States. "Harvest Empire" tells the untold story of Latino immigrants in America.

More than 800 union members, their families, immigration advocates and community leaders rallied in front of the Arizona state Capitol yesterday to reaffirm their support for commonsense immigration reform that protects immigrants and America's workers. In a press conference before the rally, Arizona AFL-CIO Executive Director Rebekah Friend announced that the organization had adopted a resolution that calls on Congress to pass immigration reform, including a practical and inclusive road map to citizenship that reflects core American values such as fairness, equality and family unity.

Commonsense immigration reform at the national level must “offer a short and direct path to citizenship for all aspiring citizens already in the United States.” That was the first of six broad principles adopted by Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, a new organization of more than a dozen community groups that gathered in Northern Virginia last Saturday. A diverse assembly of more than 100 activists came together to plan for their campaign to convince members of Congress to support “true reform” of our immigration laws that respects the dignity of every individual, strengthens families and builds a stronger economy that protects workers' rights and meets the state’s needs for a trained workforce by providing access to education for all.

The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that would allow DREAMer immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities. The bill now goes to Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) to be signed into law, something he has indicated he will do. Only three Republicans voted for the bill.

Hundreds of activists representing working families rallied in Chicago on Thursday in support of commonsense immigration reform with a path to citizenship. The event was held by the Chicago Federation of Labor, Instituto del Progreso Latino and the AFL-CIO.

A coalition of immigrant rights activists, including the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the AFL-CIO and AFSCME, submitted a letter to Congress and President Obama asking that lifelines and public services that meet basic human needs be included in commonsense immigration reform.

Today, labor is one of the key forces pushing for comprehensive immigration reform in Washington, D.C. To learn more about the movement's advocacy and more about how unions transformed themselves into outspoken champions of immigrant rights, I spoke with Maria Elena Durazo. A daughter of Mexican immigrant farm workers, Durazo rose to become the leader of the hotel and restaurant workers union in Los Angeles, the dynamic UNITE HERE Local 11. And, as chair of the national AFL-CIO’s Immigration Committee, Durazo is now a leading point person in the national immigration debate.

More than 160 state and local labor federations and central labor councils have passed resolutions in support of comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for aspiring citizens already in the United States.  The labor organizations that have passed resolutions so far come from 39 different states and represent more than 6 million workers.

Of all the reasons a path to citizenship is vital for our nation's 11 million aspiring citizens, one powerful reason stands out: It's the right thing to do. Check out this great new video from Seattle, where DREAMer Elizabeth Lara explains why she's excited to become a citizen. Lara was joined by union members and community leaders who gathered to support comprehensive, commonsense immigration reform this week. 

While the AFL-CIO continues to roll out its campaign for citizenship and fair, comprehensive immigration reform for aspiring Americans, lawmakers in Congress are considering a number of potential options for an immigration bill. It is no secret that the union movement and the business community have been discussing the “future flow” of lesser-skilled workers. There is consensus that, like the rest of America’s immigration system, the mechanisms for evaluating our labor market needs and admitting foreign workers (as well as recruiting U.S. workers) for temporary and permanent jobs are broken, or non-existent.