Raul Grijalva

The two fellows in the photo above keep my hopes very high for an ever more just and more compassionate government. The fellow some of you readers might not recognize is Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva.

But this photo was taken several weeks ago. I wish I could say that it was taken last Thursday, June 25 That is when a group of Senate and House members had a twice-delayed meeting with President Obama about immigration reform. 30 members were invited, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of our neighboring district. Grijalva was not invited.

I am convinced that there is nobody in the Senate or House with a better knowledge of these borderlands, the plight of perhaps 12 million hard working, undocumented neighbors across the land and the overall migration picture. His knowledge comes from his roots and a lifetime of borderlands experience and human rights advocacy . He has a solid history of talking turkey and avoiding political BS. I wish I knew who was behind leaving him out of that meeting.