San Luis could become site for immigration reform campaign

SAN LUIS — This city is expected to become one of the bases of operation for a grassroots campaign for immigration reform.

The statewide group Promise Arizona says it plans to open a call center in San Luis, Ariz., where area residents can come to place calls and send emails to lawmakers urging their support for President Obama's immigration initiatives.

Alisha Luna, a Promise Arizona coordinator, sees the San Luis call center as being part of a nationwide effort on behalf of immigration reform.

“We want Yuma (County) to do its part,” she said. “This is an historic movement and we can't be left on the outside. Immigration reform has a lot to do with keeping families together, so that they don't live with the pain of separation of parents and their children.”

The Phoenix-based Promise Arizona was formed in response to the passage in 2010 of the state's Senate Bill 1070, which authorized local law enforcement agencies authority to check the immigration status of people they believed could be in the country illegally. Since then, the organization has turned its attention to lobbying on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform, which could lead to the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants in this country.

Luna said the call center will be staffed with volunteers who will provide information to the visitors about the immigration reform and its impacts on local communities.

Promise Arizona plans to set up the call center in the city's Fernando Padilla Community Center, Luna said, and the goal is to disseminate 1,000 phone calls and emails in the month of March alone.