The Heartbreak of Immigration Reform, with Esther Olavarria

Everyone knows that our immigration system is broken, so why hasn’t Congress fixed it for over 35 years? What you may not know is how close we came to comprehensive immigration reform – not once, not twice, but *four times.*

Esther Olavarria was one of the foremost people working behind the scenes to make it happen, first as a staffer to Senator Ted Kennedy and later as a senior official under President Obama.

This is her eyewitness account – of hope and despair, war rooms and whip counts, and honest answers on why it’s so hard for Congress to get the job done.

Learn More

Amanda, Claire, and Doug express their own personal opinions on The Melting Pod. This episode was produced by Michael Palmer (⁠palmer.media⁠). Read more about the topics in this episode:

* ⁠White House Offers Stealth Campaign to Support Immigration Bill - New York Times (June 20, 2013)

* Summary of the “four-legged stool” - National Immigration Forum (2013)

* How Democracy Works Now (2013) - free to watch with a library card

* Senator Kennedy Floor Speech on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007

* Senator Ted Kennedy's Remarks at Immigration Rally in Washington (2006)

* Unions Split on Immigrant Workers - Washington Post (Jan. 26, 2007)

Give More