Common Ground Workshop on Immigration

followed by a

Constituents Conversation

Bringing Reds and Blues together to find common ground on immigration, followed by a meeting with their Member of Congress to share unanimous points of agreement and other takeaways

Born out of the Citizens Commission on Immigration, the Common Ground Workshop followed by a Constituents Conversation takes the conversation one step further. Participants take action by sharing their results with their Member of Congress at an in-person meeting.

Common Ground Workshop

The Common Ground workshop, an out-growth of Braver Angels signature Red/Blue workshop, allows the Citizen’s Commission on Immigration to bring equal numbers of Red and Blue participants to delve into the values, concerns and policies and remedies about Immigration. Unanimous Points of Agreement are identified at these workshops, which are taking place across the country. Goals for this workshop include:

Delve into the issue of immigration where citizens differ, and learn how each side sees the problem
Delineate areas of common ground and points of agreement
Discover insights that might be helpful to others in our community and the nation

Constitutents Conversation

This Braver Angels workshop brings together a Member of Congress with an equal number of red and blue constituents to discuss points of agreement that the constituents have found on immigration through a prior Common Ground Workshop. A Braver Angels moderator facilitates the conversation. Constituents describe what’s at the heart of the immigration issue for them and share their points of agreement with the Member. The Member listens, asks questions of the constituents, briefly shares his or her own ideas about what can be done to address immigration, and briefly responds to questions from the constituents about how to address immigration. Goals for this workshop include:

Constituents have the opportunity to share their experience of looking for common ground on immigration.
The Member becomes aware of points of agreement on immigration among politically diverse constituents.
Constituents learn the thoughts of the Member about the areas of agreement.