Tonight, President Obama will address the nation to announce the steps he plans to take to begin fixing our broken immigration system. His message won’t fall on deaf ears in Charlotte, as the Latin American Coalition has partnered with Familias Unidas to organize a viewing party for the much-anticipated address. The party will begin at 7:45 p.m. at the LAC office located at 4938 Central Ave.

Local advocates, immigrants and their allies will be there in support and to watch the president’s address and discuss what it will mean for our community.

“Everybody agrees that our immigration system is broken. Unfortunately Washington has allowed the problem to fester for too long,” Obama says in a video released by the White House. “What I’m going to be laying out is the things that I can do with my lawful authority as president to make the system work better, even as I continue to work with congress and encourage them to get a bipartisan comprehensive bill that can solve the entire problem.”

With the bill passed by the Senate more than 500 days ago still in limbo, the president has received significant pressure to address the issue in any way he can, but House Speaker John A. Boehner has said that all options are still in consideration and that he will continue to fight the president “tooth and nail” if he continues to push the limits of his legal authority.

With the looming threat of legal ramifications should the president act, there is a lot of pressure for both parties to reach a general consensus.

Tonight will set the tone for one of the country’s most controversial and far-reaching debates in decades. Whether or not you decide to join the party at the LAC, the address is a monumental one. Missing it to watch Grey’s Anatomy, or the new episode of The Biggest Loser: Glory Days might in fact make you the biggest loser.