Elaine Vilorio

High school senior in New Jersey

I'm Black. After many years in the closet, after many years of breathing that stale air of self-denial, I can finally say this.

Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño

Bishop in The United Methodist Church

The opportunity to reunite their families should be extended to all immigrant families, including LGBT families. It is the just and right thing to do. It is the humane thing to do. It is what we must do.

Ryan Campbell

Author, 'Chasing Romney'

If the GOP stands squarely in the way of reforming the "broken" immigration system, many political careers will be crushed in the wake of this vote.

Scott Stringer

Manhattan Borough President

If we are to truly honor Emma Lazarus' inspiring words, we must give these young people every opportunity to develop their talents, put down roots, and contribute to the fabric of our communities.

Tonya Hurley

Author, "The Blessed" and "ghostgirl"

She goes, I was told, by many names: Lady Of Shadows. Holy Girl. Lady of the Night. The Skinny Lady. Santa Sebastiana. Frowned upon by the Church and the upper classes, worshiped secretly for centuries by the working classes, Santa Muerte has become the patron saint of the downtrodden.

Darrin Redus

Chief Economic Inclusion Advisor, JumpStart Inc.

Connecting more minorities to the nation's emerging tech-based economy (via these high-tech industries) is of vital importance for our collective economic future. This bridge-building isn't always easy, however.

Gary Shapiro

President and CEO, the Consumer Electronics Association

Canada gets it. They are recruiting the world’s brightest people who our crazy immigration laws repel.

Yoani Sanchez

Award-winning Cuban blogger

The Internet Forum has allowed us to feel like citizens of the world, to share experiences with those who live in different situations but, in essence, surprisingly similar ones.

Keith Rushing

Communications Director, Rights Working Group

If you're worried about the growing political strength of people of color, which is happening in large part because of a rapidly growing Latino population, then you might be motivated to do what you can to stop immigration reform.

R. Andrew Chesnut

Professor of Religious Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University

As shocking as it may be to some observers and Catholics in the Global North, Pope Francis' informal exorcism neatly captures the rise of the Global South, where prayers for deliverance from evil are common Catholic currency.

Sylvia E. Meléndez-Klinger

Registered dietitian, certified personal trainer, nutritional consultant and founder of Hispanic Food Communications

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just released the latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on Americans' sugar consumption, and the results are quite surprising.  Here are some of the findings that really grabbed my attention.

National Council of La Raza

The largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States

My family's story not only sheds light on problems with our broken immigration system but also serves as a reminder of how policy affects real people's lives and can help strengthen our economy.

Harry Boyte

Director, Center for Democracy and Citizenship at Augsburg College

It will take civic change in many settings -- not simply in government -- to reinvent citizenship.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Cesar Gaviria, Ricardo Lagos and Ernesto Zedillo

After more than four decades of a failed war on drugs, calls for a change in strategy are growing louder by the day. In Latin America, the debate is positively deafening.

Bob Bragar

Member, Democratic National Committee

One doesn't often have the opportunity to make a quick remark that might affect the course of U.S. policy. I got that chance in an unexpected conversation with Barack Obama in 2007.

Axel W. Caballero

Founder, Director/Producer - Metafora Politica, Cuentame

Stephanie's story is emblematic of the over 25,000 immigrants who apply for family unity waivers each year only to be torn apart by an immigration system that emphasizes blind enforcement policies over sensible and human rights' solutions.

Paromita Shah

Associate Director, National Immigration Project

What's at stake in the immigration reform bill is whether or not we continue to perpetuate the harsh and short-sighted policies of our current immigration laws.