Mary Jo Pitzl

The Arizona Republic

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — For Erika Andiola, the moment that propelled her into the politics of illegal immigration came when her family's home was raided and her uncle sent to jail.

For Arizona state Sen. Steve Smith, a Republican from Maricopa, the 9/11 attacks highlighted the urgency of securing the border and enforcing the United States' immigration laws.

And for Julissa Arce, education motivated her to speak out about what she believes are needed changes to the nation's immigration policies.

The three told their stories Monday evening to a crowd of about 200 at a One Nation event in Scottsdale. Hosted by USA TODAY and The Arizona Republic, the event was designed to present varied perspectives on illegal immigration, an issue has has animated Arizona for years and is a hot-button issue in the presidential race.

A recent USA TODAY/Rock the Vote poll showed that millennials support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants by more than 2 to 1, or 68% to 26%.

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Donald Trump and his main GOP rival, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, have vowed to revoke President Obama's executive actions on immigration if either is elected.

Obama's actions include an existing program that allows undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to apply for protection from deportation and for work permits. A separate program, now on hold after a court challenge, would offer the same benefits to undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents.

Trump and Cruz also vehemently oppose allowing undocumented immigrants to gain legal status or citizenship. Both candidates say they would work to deport all immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Woven into the Monday's presentation were performances by Ballet Folklorico and the Haymarket Squares, presentations that highlighted the extent to which Latino culture and immigration issues are woven into daily life in the U.S.

Arce started the evening by sharing her unlikely story. An undocumented immigrant, she relied on a fake green card and Social Security number to get work. She interned at Goldman Sachs and rose through the ranks to eventually become a vice president. She later moved to Merrill Lynch as a director.

No one knew she was undocumented, she said. She didn’t fit the stereotype.

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"No one was going to question me," Arce told the audience. "I graduated cum laude from one of the top business schools. My English was good.”

Besides, she worked hard and she was good at it, she said.

That kind of hard work should be rewarded in the U.S., she said.

“We’re just asking for an opportunity to get an education," Arce said, adding that a then-Texas policy that granted in-state tuition to undocumented students put her on the path to success. After undocumented children have benefited from the investment the country puts into grade school and high school, it seems a waste to throw that all away by denying them a college education, she said.

But Smith, the state senator, said Arizona is struggling to provide that kind of education to citizens. It makes little sense to extend it to people who haven't played by the rules, he said. The same goes for medical costs and employment: Arizona, and the nation, needs to look out for its own first, he added.

When he shared that story with a Latino man who helped him fix his broken-down car during his first run for the Legislature, Smith said, he was surprised the man agreed with Smith's belief that a wall on the border is a good idea.

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The man, Hugo Reyes, told him he had never considered the issue from the perspective of children and limited tax dollars — what Smith called the "American point of view."

An Arizona-Mexico border wall, which Smith has advocated for in the Legislature, would provide some of the security Smith said the 9/11 attacks showed was needed. He said reports of an al-Qaeda camp on the Mexican side of the border propelled him to run for the Legislature.

Andiola offered a markedly different point of view, explaining the birth of the "dreamer" movement to provide legal status to the children brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents.

Andiola, who now serves as national Latino press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, concluded her remarks by urging the audience to vote — both in Tuesday’s Arizona primary and in November.

“I can’t vote, but you can,” she said. “Use the power of your voice. Let’s change America for everybody."

Contributing: Daniel González, The Arizona Republic. Follow Mary Jo Pitzl on Twitter: @maryjpitzl

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