Antonio Villaraigosa on Immigration

Latino heritage is part of our American heritage

But at the gathering of the California Latino Economic Institute in Sacramento, the former Los Angeles mayor stressed that he's never run as "the Latino" candidate or served as a "Latino" elected official. He used the 23-minute speech to lay the groundwork for a candidacy focused on extending economic opportunity to every corner of the state.

Immigration reform is an economic and moral imperative

VILLARAIGOSA: The time is now. We can't wait another political season to pass comprehensive immigration reform. This isn't just a moral, it's an economic imperative. If we bring these people, 11 million people from out of the dark and into the light, it's about a $1.5 trillion impact to the U.S. economy. The "dreamers" alone, a $329 billion impact. We can't do this piecemeal and we can't have second class citizenship. This has to be a pathway to full citizenship.

Q: Who are the first people that ought of get citizenship? You're talking about the kids in the DREAM Act?

VILLARAIGOSA: Obviously the people who become citizens first are the people who have been in line, after they've had a full background check, paid their back taxes. We've got to do this in a way that gives all of these people an opportunity to be full citizens of the United States of America.

Approves of undocumented students receiving financial aid

AZ immigration law is unpatriotic & unconstitutional