WASHINGTON — Even with one of the largest hurdles to an immigration overhaul overcome, optimistic lawmakers on Sunday cautioned they had not finished work on a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.

A 20-year legal odyssey took a step closer to completion Friday when a federal judge ruled the state’s way of teaching English to kids who don’t know the language is “a valid educational theory.”

WASHINGTON – Jerssay Arredondo said life as an illegal immigrant and a gay man can be a “double struggle” – which was all the more reason for him to be on hand as the Supreme Court heard arguments on same-sex marriage.

“We must remember that immigrant rights are (gay) rights” and vice versa, the 21-year-old Phoenix resident said Wednesday on the steps of the Supreme Court.

A group of influential U.S. senators shaping and negotiating details of an immigration reform package vowed Wednesday to make the legislation public when Congress reconvenes next month as negotiations reopened between union workers and business groups over visas for low-skilled workers.

Sen. John McCain worked to lower expectations surrounding his plan for immigration reform and hinted at difficult disagreements in Congress during an emotional town hall meeting in his home state of Arizona on Monday that saw people on both sides of the debate exchange fiery insults.

The first major legal battle over President Barack Obama’s policy allowing young illegal immigrants to stay in the United States focuses on whether the federal government or state officials have the authority to decide who is legally in the country.

The director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday defended his agency’s decision to release more than 2,000 illegal immigrants last month, saying it was necessary to keep the agency within its budget.

The Chamber of Commerce’s lead immigration negotiator said Friday he’s hoping for a deal soon with the AFL-CIO on a new temporary worker program, but the sides are still apart on important details.

A federal court is allowing lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice to participate in arguments on April 2 over Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s bid to overturn a ruling that bars police from enforcing a minor part of the state’s 2010 immigration law.

An appeals court on Monday upheld a ruling that prevents police in Arizona from enforcing a little-known section of the state’s 2010 immigration enforcement law that prohibited people from blocking traffic when they seek or offer day labor services on streets.