AZ State Legislature 101
The Arizona State Legislature is divided into this many legislative districts, each represented by one senator and two representatives.
30
Aliento's biggest legislative victory came in 2022 when it led a youth-driven campaign to pass this Arizona ballot proposition — which reinstated in-state college tuition for undocumented students — winning by just 51% to 49%
Proposition 308
Created on June 15, 2012, this executive program provided temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — commonly called "Dreamers."
DACA
Who were the two sponsors of the Senate immigration reform bill? Hint: one was a Democrat from Massachusetts, while the other was a senator from Arizona.
Sen. Ted Kennedy & Sen John McCain
Where did Rudy and Erick go to high school, and the mascot of the school?
Dobson High School, Mustangs. Westwood High School, Warriors.
Arizona's legislative session officially begins on the second Monday of January each year and is set to run this many days — though in practice it almost always runs longer
100 days
Aliento was founded in this year by Reyna Montoya, a DACA recipient, after years of community organizing and recognizing a gap between those leading change and those being impacted by immigration.
2016
Launched in 1942 during World War II, this joint U.S.-Mexico agreement brought Mexican contract laborers — known as braceros — to work legally in American agriculture, eventually importing over 4.5 million workers before ending in 1964.
Bracero Program
What was the name of the House immigration bill that motivated millions of undocumented Americans to march in March of 2006?
Senserbener bill
Which fellowship was able to organize the most amount of students for Education Day?
Cohort #8 (YOU)
When the Arizona Legislature refers a bill directly to voters instead of sending it to the Governor's desk, the Governor loses this power that they would have otherwise had over the bill.
Veto
At Aliento, how we define leadership goes beyond title or authority — what is Aliento's definition of leadership?
"Taking responsibility for enabling others to achieve a shared purpose in the midst of uncertainty"
Proposed in Congress multiple times but never passed into law, this bill would provide undocumented high school graduates and GED recipients a three-step path to U.S. citizenship through college, work, or military service.
DREAM Act
The Republicans called the Kennedy-McCain bill amnesty. Why?
Republicans calling anything that doesn’t mean full deportation or every undocumented person, or it’s a good way to kill legislation.
Outreach. Rule of three. If I have a goal of having 30 people attend my event. Based on what we learned about outreach, how many people do I need to invite, considering a 33% flake rate?
45
In Arizona, a bill can pass either chamber with this type of vote — but raising taxes requires a two-thirds majority instead.
Simple majority
Aliento's work is guided by five core values — Most Impacted Leadership, Growth, Creating Spaces of Sharing & Listening, Transformative Work, and this fifth value that centers open dialogue, healing, and acknowledging difficult histories as a path toward collective healing
Truth & Reconciliation
This federal immigration service — which had existed for over a century — was abolished by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the September 11 attacks, with its functions split into three new agencies (USCIS, CBP, and ICE) under the newly created Department of Homeland Security.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
Why did the Senate Democrats deceive the pro-immigrant advocacy groups, saying that the Republicans were being unreasonable during the Senate floor amendment process? Hint: It was the midterm year, and President Bush was very unpopular.
Sen. Schumer had a poll saying that if immigration reform died and the Republicans were to blame, the Democrats could win up to 7 Senate seats.
Who are the sponsors for HCR 2027? Hint:3 House Republicans (1 man and 2 women)
Rep. Michael Way, Rep. Lisa Fink, and Rep. Rachel Keshel.
When a bill has little chance of passing on its own, a legislator may gut the contents of an already-moving bill in the other chamber and replace it entirely with new language — this tactic, named for what it does to the original bill's text, is a common shortcut used to bypass the early stages of the legislative process.
Striker bill
Because Aliento's founders, Reyna Montoya and José Patiño, are DACA recipients and not U.S. citizens, they could not gather signatures to put Prop 308 on the ballot themselves — so instead they took this route, meeting with every member of the state legislature on both sides of the aisle to pass a resolution sending it to voters.
Legislative referral process (or going through the legislature)
Signed by President Reagan on November 6, 1986, this landmark law offered amnesty to undocumented immigrants who had been continuously present in the U.S. since January 1, 1982 — ultimately granting legal status to approximately 2.7 million people.
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
In your own words, explain what the “Sliver” was and why it so controversial for Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona?
The sliver referred to those undocumented immigrants who had arrived in the past 2 years, and Sen. Kyl believed they needed to go back to the back of the line, and they didn’t deserve a pathway to citizenship.
Approximately what percentage of the immigrants detained by ICE have a criminal allegation? The closest % wins.
1.86%