Ariz. senators participate in town hall on immigration

Today, Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, two authors of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate in June, will participate in an hour-long forum on immigration sponsored by The Arizona Republic, KPNX-TV, Phoenix, azcentral.com and USA TODAY.

The forum will be livestreamed on azcentral.com and usatoday.com beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific. You can follow hashtag #azbordertalk on Twitter.

The senators are expected to discuss the key aspects of their bill, including its impact on jobs, and make their case for why reform is needed, including a path to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

The 13-year path outlined in the bill, which would require payment of taxes, fees and penalties, is decried as "amnesty" by critics but called crucial by President Barack Obama and pro-reform Democrats and Republicans.

Among the topics that could come up today are immigration reform's impact on border security, on jobs and wages, and on the economy.