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By Abby Livingston Posted at 3:04 p.m. on April 1

Rogers is retiring. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

As national Democrats coalesce behind Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum in the wide-open race to succeed Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero is not ruling out a run.

Its a very simple fact that I am looking at it, Bernero said in a Tuesday morning phone interview. I am considering it. I dont need to run for Congress but if its a viable possibility then I would consider it.

Rogers announced his retirement last week, giving Democrats a much-needed pick-up opportunity in the Wolverine State. But his departure has left both parties scrambling for top candidates ahead of the April 22 filing deadline.

For Democrats, Byrum and Bernero are the top two candidate prospects. But at least one national Democratic group is posturing to back Byrum. She has been in communication with EMILYs List, a group thathelps Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

Meanwhile, Bernero said hes waiting for a survey, including a poll from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to gauge his candidacy.

Id like to see some polling and Im working on that and I understand the DCCC is working on it.

He added that a divisive primary, scheduled for Aug. 5, would not be helpful to his party.

If Im the stronger candidate, then I should run. I have to make sure its the right thing for me, he added. And if Barb is the stronger candidate than she should run.

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Two Democrats Interested in Mike Rogers' Seat in Michigan

Moran Demands Vote on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

By: RepJamesPMoran

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Moran Demands Vote on Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Video

2014 Chicago Immigration Reform Rally
Immigration Reform rally on Clark and Van Buren 3/27/2014.

By: Mario Garcia

Continued here:

2014 Chicago Immigration Reform Rally - Video

Immigration Reform Press Conference - Part 3
At State Capitol in St Paul, MN.

By: Herman Colon

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Immigration Reform Press Conference - Part 3 - Video

PHOENIX Less than a week after President Barack Obama discussed immigration reform in a meeting with Pope Francis, a delegation of Roman Catholic leaders is visiting the U.S-Mexico border Tuesday to raise awareness about the plight of immigrants and to pray for policy changes.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, one of Francis' key advisers and the leader of the Boston Archdiocese, will be joined by members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for an early morning walk in the desert along the border, followed by a Mass at the fence separating the two countries in southern Arizona.

"The purpose of this journey here to Arizona is to raise a consciousness about the need for our president and Congress to pass immigration policy and reform to address a broken system," said Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Tucson Diocese.

"We're also here to pray for those who have lost their lives along the border."

Dozens of immigrants die each year in the brutal desert terrain while trying to cross illegally into the United States along the roughly 2,000-mile-long border with Mexico. The Catholic leaders note that immigrants are simply trying to find better lives and jobs in America and that thousands of them have died crossing the Southwest desert in recent decades.

"What we fail to remember in this debate is the human aspect of immigration that immigration is primarily about human beings, not economic or social issues," said Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle and chairman of the conference's Committee on Migration.

TThose who have died, and those deported each day, have the same value and innate God-given dignity as all persons, yet we ignore their suffering and their deaths."

The push for immigration reform in Congress has been stalled for months, with Democrats and Republicans unable to reach an agreement over the divisive issue.

House Democrats last week tried to force a vote on a comprehensive immigration bill, an effort that is likely to fail given Republican reluctance to address the topic in an election year while all signs point to major gains for the GOP in the November midterms.

The Senate passed a comprehensive bill last June, but the measure stalled in the GOP-controlled House where Republicans have argued for a piecemeal approach to reforming the system.

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Bishops seek immigration reform during Arizona-Mexico border trip