Rationale: Our task at the unit meetings in December will be to respond to the six consensus questions asked of our membership by the LWVUS. The organization's goal is to achieve sufficient consensus so that a position can be developed which will authorize action in the national debate on US immigration policy. We're not asked to formulate a new policy. Rather we're working on the most basic building blocks.

In four questions we're asked to rank our preferences among alternative courses of action in key immigration issues. In two additional questions we're asked to respond to a given statement. There is an opportunity to include comments at the end. We suggest that you allot 10-15 minutes of discussion time to each question and an equal amount of time for making comments at the end.

As you think about this topic we want to call to your attention the lead editorial in The New York Times of 10-22-07. We're cautioned that a failure to revise our immigration policy could result in our national frustration and anxiety being mistakenly targeted against vulnerable people who live within our borders. This won't solve our problems. Indeed, it may make them worse. We can take pride in the LWVUS' efforts to find a solution and our opportunity to be part of that work.

Everymember Material: The Everymember material for December includes a copy of the consensus questions so that you can familiarize yourselves with them as you prepare for the meeting. It also includes five short essays published by LWVUS. They have all previously appeared in National Voter. They'll give you an historical perspective on immigration to the US and further information on the key issues of immigration policy that we'll be discussing.

Members of the Immigration Study Committee: Flo Alvergue, Fred Andrews, Fran Boehner, Merle Bottge, Alice Dugan, Karen Ecker, Susan Eskildsen, Nancie Fadeley, Nonna Haydock, Pat Hocken, Mary Ann Holser, Lilla McDonald, Vincenza Scarpaci, Kathleen Shelley, Barbara Smith, Dorothy Soper, chair