Bill de Blasio hosts 20 mayors for New York City immigration summit

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is making a major push for immigration reform, and on Monday, he hosted a summit with 20 Democratic mayors from across the country to jump start the campaign to overhaul immigration legislation.

It comes on the heels of President Barack Obama's executive action to help approximately five million undocumented immigrants.

The meeting at Gracie Mansion focused on coordinating and sharing expertise for the implementation of the changes, as well the road ahead and strategies to push for comprehensive immigration action.

Those in attendance signed on to a what de Blasio calls a Five Point Challenge aimed at:

--Launching a mayoral war room for federal action on immigration reform

--Establishing local Cities United for Immigration Action coalitions

--Safeguarding immigrants from fraudulent services

--Reaching all eligible applicants through community outreach and public education

--Auditing services and programs to ensure efficient and affordable delivery of services to maximize enrollment by city residents

Following the summit, the cities will look to build grassroots support at the local level through strategies including:

--Organizing local coalitions for action-including faith, business, community and labor leaders-before Congress gets back for unified demonstration of solidarity.

--A Mayoral Lobby Day in DC-after matching congressional members to mayoral coalition members-to push back against any efforts to dismantle the President's Executive Actions and push for comprehensive immigration reform.

--Convening state tables of mayors in key states, working with allies to have parallel organizing, labor, faith tables in each state, and bringing in key suburban or county leaders.

--Generating constituent call-in and email-in to push for action with key targets in each state.

--Coordinating Know Your Rights events in all cities with allies, partners, and stakeholders as the first phase of the President's plan goes into effect.

--Highlighting stories of DREAMers who have been or will be helped by the President's Executive Actions.

"The president's plan to act on immigration reform is crucial to creating a more just country, and the federal government is depending on cities to implement the plan," de Blasio said. "It is critical that we get it right. Mayors are in the trenches and see firsthand the need for comprehensive immigration reform. We will take this opportunity to lay the ground work for a deeper national movement from the grassroots up."

The summit included Mayors and staff representing 25 cities from across the country, including: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Dayton, Hartford, Houston, Jersey City, Los Angeles, Louisville, Madison, New Haven, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Juan, Santa Fe, Schenectady, Seattle, Syracuse, Tacoma and Washington, D.C.

The Cities United for Immigration Action coalition, launched two weeks ago, includes an additional 18 cities who were not able to join the summit.