Immigration reform might be one of the most divisive political issues of our time, but one of the main tenets behind it—that undocumented immigrants who are already living here should be allowed to stay in the United States—has widespread support. According to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, 72% of all Americans believe that undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country, if certain requirements are met. On this point, voters across the political spectrum are united: a path to citizenship or permanent residency is supported by a majority of Democrats (80%), Republicans (56%), and Independents (76%).

According to a recent report by the Migration Policy Institute, the number of unaccompanied children is supposed to drop from its recent spike in 2013 and 2014, from 68,000 last year to a projected 39,000 this year. Though the United States’ resources might not be as stretched in dealing with new entrants this year, many children are still having trouble getting the support they need to remain and sustain themselves in America.

In a much-anticipated court ruling on Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled not to lift the injunction from a lower court on President Obama’s signature executive action on immigration. This ruling means that, until the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the case, the Obama administration cannot move forward with plans to implement reforms to the Department of Homeland Security, such as the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program that is expected to provide relief from deportation for over four million undocumented people.

This week marks the start of a new book of Torah: the Book of Numbers. This week’s portion, B’midbar, or “In the Wilderness”, recounts the census-taking of entire Israelite community commanded of Moses by God. The Israelites are sorted by tribe and all men over the age of 20 are counted, as God commands, “head by head,” with special instructions for the Levites.

Buoyed by a new session, Congress has been busy taking up legislation on immigration reform. Yet unfortunately, that “reform” has just meant going back to the old ways of doing things, when no undocumented immigrants were protected from deportation and our border communities lived in fear of government officials.

I was able to spend a couple hours today watching C-SPAN, which, I’ll admit, may not sound very exciting. Yet, I was able to witness a fascinating piece of political theatre that had me at times depressed, at times hopeful and often on the edge of my seat. The stage had been set in the last Congress, when during Congress’s budget bill, Republicans delayed looking at funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This delay is why the bill was known as the CRomnibus, because it funded DHS on previously agreed-to levels (the Continuing Resolution, or CR, part), and set new funding levels for the rest of the government.

In all of the excitement over President Obama’s executive action on immigration, we haven’t been hearing much about the plight of unaccompanied children coming to the U.S.-Mexico border, which experienced a notable uptick this summer. Yet, there have been a few new developments:

Washington, D.C., November 20, 2014 – In response to President Obama’s executive action providing new protections for nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants, Rachel Laser, Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: