Immigration Reform 2013: House And Senate Lawmakers On Tour Of NYC Immigration Sites

With enmity growing in battles over immigration reform, members of the House and Senate are trying to call time out for a weekend. 20 lawmakers from the two legislative bodies are going to be shuttled around New York City during a three-day 'Becoming America' tour organized by the Faith & Politics Institute, a non-profit interfaith organization which puts together retreats and public forums for members of Congress and the public. The lawmakers' itinerary includes events on Ellis Island, the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the African Burial Ground National Monument as well as breakfast with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the Gracie Mansion. Organizers say they hope to promote reflection on the nation's immigrant history at a time when immigration reform appears to be stuck at an impasse.

"It helps us to be removed from Washington and not be in the limelight of all that happens inside the Beltway," said Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), one of the tour leaders, in an interview last week. "It gives us a chance to get outside, and what better place to go than New York City, symbolic of immigration for our country? It's the epicenter of immigration."

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Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), another tour leader, told Politico he thought the tour would be helpful for good relations between party members, saying, "I think it does give us an opportunity for those members - for those of us who are going - to spend some time together, to get to know each other better."

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The Associated Press notes that most of the lawmakers involved are Democrats, but a sprinkling of Republicans is mixed in, too, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the third and final tour leader. Cantor is scheduled to speak on Saturday at the keynote event in a Jewish center in Jackson Heights, Queens, one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the United States. In an emailed statement to Politico, Cantor called the trip "another bipartisan occasion to come together and celebrate the stories and traditions of so many of our families who came to this great country to pursue the American dream and build a brighter future for our children."

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The Virginia Republican is one of the sponsors of the Kids Act, a piece of legislation designed to provide legal status and a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.