Panel: “Immigration Reform – Is it time and what should it include?”

Former U.S. Senator John Kyl moderates a panel discussion exploring the complexities surrounding immigration reform, including its timing, feasibility and potential scope. Border security, the path to citizenship, and visas for individuals working in STEM-related fields are among the topics to be addressed. This forum is part of Arizona State University’s The Challenges Before Us project, created to tackle some of the many challenges facing society today. These forums are designed to open a dialogue between experts, practitioners and the community at large.  Eight, Arizona PBS broadcast the event live from Eight Studios on Eight World, channel 8.3.  For more information visit: http://forum.asu.edu/forum/immigration-reform.

Arizona State University and Eight, Arizona PBS host this event, featuring forum moderator John Kyl, U.S. Senator for Arizona, 1995-2013 and Distinguished Fellow in Public Service, ASU College of Public Programs; panelists Glenn Hamer, President and CEO, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Tamar Jacoby, President & CEO, ImmigrationWorks, USA; Lisa Magaña, Associate Professor, School of Transborder Studies, ASU; Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney; Daniel R. Ortega, Attorney at Law, Ortega Law Firm, P.C.; and Scott Smith, Mayor, City of Mesa, with opening remarks by ASU President Michael Crow.

Welcome
Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University

Michael M. Crow became the 16th president of Arizona State University on July 1, 2002.  He is pioneering a new research university model that offers the highest quality education to large numbers of academically qualified students.  Through his guidance, ASU is transforming into one of the nation’s leading public metropolitan research universities, one that is directly engaged in the economic, social, and cultural vitality of its region.  Under his direction the university pursues teaching, research, and creative excellence focused on the major challenges and questions of our time, as well as those central to the building of a sustainable environment and economy for Arizona. He has committed the university to global engagement and to setting a new standard for public service.

Moderator
Jon L. Kyl, U.S. Senator for Arizona, 1995-2013
Distinguished Fellow in Public Service, College of Public Programs,
O’Connor Distinguished Scholar of Law and Public Service, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Arizona State University

Jon Kyl served eighteen years in the U.S. Senate (1995-2013) after serving for eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He was elected unanimously by his colleagues in 2008 to serve as Republican Whip, the second-highest position in the Senate Republican leadership, a position he held until his retirement in 2013.  As a member of the Judiciary Committee, he helped write reforms to U.S. patent law, the landmark Crime Victims’ Rights Act, as well as important provisions of the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and other anti-terrorism laws.   As a member of the Finance Committee, he was a chief advocate of pro-growth tax policies, including low tax rates on income, capital gains, dividends and estates.  He was a member of the Joint Select Committee for deficit reduction, the so called “Super Committee.”

Panelist
Glenn Hamer, President and CEO, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Glenn Hamer has been president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2006. He has overseen the organization’s development into one of the most respected pro-business public policy entities in the state.  In 2011, Hamer led the business community’s successful advocacy for passage of a landmark economic competitiveness package, which was hailed as the most significant job creation legislation passed in the state in a generation. He represents the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a member of the board for the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He serves as Co-Chair of the Governor’s Solar Energy Task Force and as a member of the Arizona Ready Education Council.

Panelist
Tamar Jacoby, President and CEO, ImmigrationWorks, USA

Tamar Jacoby is president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA, a national federation of small business owners working to advance better immigration law. She is a nationally known journalist and author. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Weekly Standard and Foreign Affairs, among other publications, and she is a regular guest on national television and radio.  She is author of Someone Else’s House: America’s Unfinished Struggle for Integration, and editor of Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means To Be American, a collection of essays about immigrant integration.

Panelist
Lisa Magaña, Associate Professor, School of Transborder Studies, Arizona State University

Lisa Magaña is an Associate Professor in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University. She has published in the area of immigration and Latino public policy issues. She is the author of the books, Straddling the Border(University of Texas Press) and The Politics of Diversity (University of Arizona Press).  She recently co-edited the book Latino Politics and Arizona’s Immigration Law SB 1070 (Springer) and is currently completing, From A to Z, Latino Immigration and Politics in Arizona (University of Texas Press).

Panelist
Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney

Bill Montgomery was first elected Maricopa County Attorney in a Special Election in 2010 and re-elected in 2012.  As a West Point Graduate, decorated Gulf War Veteran, former Deputy County Attorney and a professional prosecutor, he has dedicated his personal and professional life to serving others. Bill earned his J.D. from ASU’s College of Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude and receiving the Order of the Coif.  As County Attorney, Bill is committed to vigorously prosecuting crimes and holding criminals accountable. Bill is equally determined to fight fraud and identity theft through the County Attorney’s specialized Fraud and Identity Theft Enforcement bureau.  Bill has helped shape legislation designed to protect victims of crime and reform Child Protective Services, resulting in the creation of the Office of Child Welfare Investigations.

Panelist
Daniel “Danny” Ortega Jr., Attorney at Law, Ortega Law Firm, P.C.

Daniel R. Ortega, Jr. is a 1974 graduate of Arizona State University, B.A. in Political Science and received his juris doctorate degree in 1977 from Arizona State University College of Law.  Mr. Ortega is the owner of the Ortega Law Firm, P.C. He has been licensed to practice law in Arizona since 1977 and practices in the area of plaintiff’s personal injury litigation, concentrating on serious personal injury and wrongful death cases.  Mr. Ortega is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association.

Panelist
Scott Smith, Mayor, City of Mesa

Mayor Smith was elected uncontested to a second term as Mayor of Mesa, the 38th largest city in the U.S. He jumpstarted Mesa’s economic development efforts with innovative initiatives like the iMesa online citizen engagement, the StartUp Mesa partnership with the Mesa Chamber of Commerce and the H.E.A.T. (Healthcare, Education, Aerospace, Tourism/Technology) strategy.  Smith is credited with reorganizing and reforming Mesa city government, reducing the budget by 20 percent and stabilizing City finances during the recession. He also led the effort to bring four legacy colleges downtown establishing the Mesa Center for Higher Education. His creative financing strategies helped fund highways, fire stations, and a light rail extension through downtown.

Smith earned an Accounting degree from Brigham Young University, and MBA and Juris Doctor degrees from Arizona State University. Mayor Smith is the incoming president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors – the first Arizona mayor to lead the organization.