Jeff Flake and the Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform

We've introduced you to Todd Landfried before. 

You can get a refresher course Here and Here.

He is the current spokesman for Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform (AZEIR).

His predecessor was Farrell Quinlan.

The AZEIR held an immigration forum breakfast (Immigration Reform Now) on May 30, 2007 at the Fiesta Inn in Tempe, AZ. 

Jeff Flake was the keynote speaker.

On the website "Arizona Marcha", a link at the top will take you to their homepage where you can find a compilation of many of the leftist immigration reform groups, leaders and protests which  have previously been discussed on SHIELD.

Puente AZ

Dolores Huerta  

ACORN

Anti-Arpaio marches

Anti-SB1070/Protest Arizona marches

According to the webpage, Arizona Marcha was started by Jose Munoz and his wife in early 2007 as a coalition of community leaders and activists to organize a march to the Arizona State Capitol on May 1, 2007 in an effort to advocate for comprehensive and humane immigration reform.  The photos on the Arizona Marcha/AZEIR forum page were taken by Jose Munoz.

Also on the Arizona Marcha/AZEIR webpage is a link to listen to Jeff Flake's comments.  This event took place during the time that Congressman Flake and Luis Gutierrez were working together to push through the STRIVE Act.  At one point, Flake mentioned that some people had put out some really good work with regards to immigration reform.  One such person was Tamar Jacoby from the Manhatten Institute.

Tamar Jacoby is a pro-immigration, self-proclaimed "Conservative Republican" who started ImmigrationWorks USA.  Her ultimate goal was to "have a grassroots army in place when immigration reform comes up again in Washington, ensuring that next time, there will be the national business presence that was missing during the last debate."

A member of the Board of Directors for ImmigrationWorks USA is former Arizona US Congressman, Jim Kolbe.

Kolbe donated to PACs such as "Judgement Matters" back in 2008 along with Bill Konopnicki and Farrell Quinlan in an effort to defeat Senator Pearce by supporting Kevin Gibbons....Jeff Flake's immigration lawyer brother-in-law.

In 2004, Jacoby came to Arizona to actively campaign against Prop 200 (Protect Arizona Now).

National pro-immigration figures realize late that if things

go badly in Arizona, they'll go worse in DC and for the country as a whole.

Eliseo Medina from the Service Employees International Union,

Tom Espinoza from the National Council of La Raza,

noted independent immigration advocate Tamar Jacoby, and Frank Sharry from the

National Immigration Forum all meet Alfredo (Gutierrez-State Senator from Arizona)

and local activists in Phoenix to work out a plan to fight PAN and a way to pay for it.

Former State Senator, Karen Johnson, outlined the role of ImmigrationWorks USA in a recent article.

The founder, President, and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA is Tamar Jacoby, who once was viewed as conservative but over the years has drifted ever leftward in the immigration wars. Most recently, she was appointed as a Fellow of the New American Foundation. NAF supports universal health care, the green agenda, global governance, the Palestinian Arabs and, of course, amnesty.

The point man for ImmigrationWorks USA is Todd Landfried. Earlier in his career, Landfried worked for the Clinton Administration's "reinventing government team" and also worked with Vice President Al Gore's "Intergovernmental Team." After leaving Washington, Landfried had a Democratic-oriented radio program in Phoenix for several years which one newspaper called a "far-lefty" program. He recently served as the Executive Director of the Maricopa County (Phoenix area) Democratic Party organization and subsequently as a party officer. Landfried is now the adopted uncle of the Utah Compact. Under the direction of ImmigrationWorks USA, he chaperones the Compact on its tour through the states and lobbies it before state legislatures. He also presents the Compact to the public as a conservative document in ImmigrationWorks USA conferences. His audience is unaware of his liberal history and beliefs or the background of the founder of ImmigrationWorks USA.

Perhaps the meeting mentioned previously between Jeff Flake and the immigration activists in 2009 wasn't as out of the ordinary as we might have thought.

Exposing The Faces Of Immigration: Luis Gutierrez

Luis Gutierrez is a Congressman from Illinois representing the 4th Congressional District.  The same area that has been found to be friendlier to non citizens than to actual citizens. 

He is an advocate for liberal and progressive causes.  His early political career included being on the Chicago City Council.  He also endorsed Richard Daley for Mayor in 1989 and subsequently served as Chair of the Committee on Housing, Land Acquisition, Disposition and Leases and Council President pro tempore under Daley's administration. 

Gutierrez has questionable ties to Rod Blagojevich as well as the Daley machine.  There were reports of development deals with Daley in 2008 as well as sweet deals for family members in 2010.

Gutiérrez was a member of the Judiciary Committee during the 110th and 111th Congress, serving on the Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law Subcommittee.  As a result of his role in championing immigration reform in the US House, in 2009 Gutiérrez was appointed Chair of the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force by Speaker Pelosi. He is also the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force as the "leading strategist and spokesperson on immigration issues."

Gutiérrez was the first elected official to sponsor a version of the Dream Act in 2001.

"For years he worked shoulder to shoulder with Rep. Jeff Flake [R-Ariz.]

to bring Republicans to the table for sensible, bipartisan reform,"

In 2007, Gutierrez and our own, Jeff Flake,  joined forces to produce the STRIVE ACT.

Congressmen Gutierrez and Flake Unveil Bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation

Jeff Flake's webpage has a glowing endorsement for the STRIVE ACT by none other than Rahm Emanuel.  So, it MUST be a good piece of legislation.

 “As the son of an immigrant and a resident of Chicago, I know first-hand,

that immigrants make this country strong.

Those who have lived in this country for years -

who have held jobs, started families and established roots in American communities -

deserve the opportunity to earn their citizenship,”

said Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL).

In 2009 Gutiérrez introduced Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act -(CIR-ASAP) a bill to create a pathway to citizenship for non-criminal undocumented immigrants and improve border security. The bill received over 100 co-sponsors and was endorsed by members of the business community and organized labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, United Food and Commerical Workers and Service Employees International Union. 


Strangely enough, all of these unions have ties to Randy Parraz.  They all seem to hang out in similar circles.


Aside from the bi-partisan friendship with Jeff Flake, Luis Gutierrez has other ties to Arizona.


He marched in the ALTO ARIZONA sponsored protest march held in April 2010 in Phoenix.   An event attended by Randy Parraz.


Lydia Guzman with Luis Gutierrez:

Luis Gutierrez at a Reform Immigration for America meeting:
See also http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org/

Raul Grijalva, Luis Gutierrez, Mary Rose Wilcox.