Dear Mr. Urban

Thank you for contacting me regarding immigration reform. I appreciate the opportunity to share my views with you about this important subject.

As you know, our nation's immigration policy is currently the subject of much debate. An estimated 12 million illegal aliens are currently living in the United States, and nearly 500,000 cross the border between the United States and Mexico every year. The Department of Homeland Security reports approximately 1,200 migrants died attempting to cross the border between 2003 and 2004.

Several immigration reform measures were proposed in the 109th Congress. I strongly believe that such reform must address issues critical to all Americans, partcularly the sucurity of our borders. Moreover, n light of difficult economic times, any immigraton reform must protect Awerican workers and their jobs. It is imperative that American workers be given the first opportunity to any U.S. job opening, and that employers are not able to displace Americans with lower-cost foreign workers.

Having said that, any comprehensive immigration reform also needs to account for the millions of undocumented workers who are currently living and working in the United States. Because of their status, many of these workers are willing to accept substandard wages, potentially displacing more expensive American workers. Moreover, because they are forced to live in the shadows, their status ultimately threatens United States national security, since appropriate authorites are not able to document their presence or conduct neccessary security background checks. Additionally, without legal protections, many of these workers are subjected to substandard conditions and mistreatment.

At the same time, studies suggest that contrary to the perception that illegal immigrants displace American jobs and consume government benefits, many illegal immigrants actually enhance our country's American economic productivity on the whole. Aside from working jobs that few native-born Americans are taking on, tw0-thirds of illegal immigrants have income tax withheld from their paychecks. Moreover, illegal immigrants are estimated to contribute $7 billion annually to Social Security, albeit with bogus Social Security numbers, through their payroll taxes that goes unclaimed. This doesn't mean that their illegal presence is not an affront to our laws and does not displace jobs in some areas, but the overall net economic benefit of their presence needs to be understood and factored into takling the problem in a dispassionate and objective manner.

I understand that there is disagreement with respect to how best to deal with this problem; however, the degree to which any immigration reform is able to bring these workers out into the open, so that they are subject to our country's laws and requirements, will be a critical measure of it' success. A purely enforcement-based approach will simply not work. Our border patrol chiefs have conveyed this message to me on multiple occassions. They have told me that real border security requires our government to deal with the job magnet that draws people from beyond our borders, and to establish a procedure with the requisite quotas for them to legally do so.

As you may know, compromise immigration reform legislation S. 2611 passed by the Senate on May 25, 2006 by a vote of 62-36. I voted in favor of S. 2611. The bill is a realistic solution that is consistent withour values as Americans. It increases resources for border security, toughens penalties for employers who hire illegal workers, and creates a system in which illegal immigrants could come forward and register, pay a fine, and work toward eaned citizenship.

I am hopeful that Congress can put political posturing aside in order to find reasonable solutions to this complicated problem in the 110^th Congress. Please be assured that I will keep your views in ind as we move forward.

Thank you again for contacting me. If you would like to stay in touch with me on this and other issues of importance, please visit my website at http://dodd.senate.gov and subscribe to recieve my regular e-mail issue alerts. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I can help you in any way.