Washington Foreign Press Center
U.S. Department of State
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WHAT: Washington Foreign Press Center Tour “Immigration in the United States”

WHEN: Tuesday, January 25-26, 2011

WHERE: San Diego, California

RSVP: Interested media should contact Jennifer Archibeque at jennifera@state.gov to sign up. Please obtain your editor/news organization’s permission to attend the tour before you sign up. We plan to visit the U.S.-Mexico border (pending the approval of U.S. Customs and Border Protection).

Participating journalists are responsible for all expenses including hotel, airfare to San Diego and meals and incidentals. Journalists based in New York, Washington and California may sign up for this tour. The Foreign Press Center will provide local transportation to and from scheduled tour appointments.

BACKGROUND:

There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the United States. While U.S. lawmakers and U.S. citizens often agree that the United States needs some type of comprehensive immigration reform, there are widely differing viewpoints about what comprehensive immigration reform legislation should include. Most of the public debate and media focus is on unlawful immigration to the United States rather than legal immigration. Differing viewpoints about immigration and how U.S. policy should be implemented often lead to heated public debates. This reporting tour will explore the various facets of immigration including the social, economic and political aspects of immigration in the San Diego community. The tour will include interviews with government officials at the local level, University professors, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and others as time permits.