Misery Acquaints a Man with Strange Bedfellows: A Plan to Pass Immigration Reform

Abstract

Immigration reform is one of the critical civil rights issues of our time. The purpose of this work is to serve as a starting place and strategic map for building a coalition capable of successfully lobbying for the passage of historic comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) legislation. In order to build such a coalition, individuals and organizations with competing interests and ideologies must unite, work in collaboration, and act in strategic concert. This article describes how stakeholders can build such a coalition. To pass CIR, a coalition of strange bedfellows should be built based on Chai Feldblum’s “Six Circles Theory of Advocacy.” Feldblum developed her thesis and expertise as the legislative lawyer on the successful campaign to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Her scholarship can teach CIR advocates how to build a coalition to pass significant civil rights legislation. This article calls for stakeholders to build a strategic coalition based on Feldblum’s “Six Circles Theory” in order to pass comprehensive immigration reform.