Democratic leaders, including Obama, have generally said a path to citizenship is absolutely necessary to any reform package, warning that a failure to include it would create a permanent group of second class Americans. Most major pro-immigration groups have said the same. Not everyone on the activist side feels that way, however. The National Day Labor Organizing Network has identified stopping deportations as the more important short term goal, since citizenship can be addressed later, and cited the Pew study on Thursday to bolster their case. So did DRM Action Coalition, a group of young undocumented activists. “Those debating the importance of citizenship need to be listening to those who live undocumented, those in detention centers, and those getting deported,” Tania Unzueta, an organizer for NDLON, said in a statement. ”Political equality starts with, and this debate actually moves forward when, people get to make the case for themselves instead of having their lives…
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