I just received this today from our governor of California. Arnold appears to be one of those who has also confused "illegal" with "legal" when dealing with immigration. He appears to be tough (We know otherwise) about securing the border, but fails to address the 5-10 million illegals who are already here living in California.

I guess in his mind, if they can make it past the border unscathed, they are home free and no longer considered illegal, but welcomed immigrants, entitled to benefit from "comprehensive immigration reform," (AKA amnesty).

Oh, those who enter this country in violation of our Federal immigration laws are not "immigrants." I think I will reply to Arnold and remind him of that distinction...

Thank you for your e-mail regarding illegal immigration. As an immigrant, I can identify with the desire to come to this country. While growing up, I had a dream to come to America. Since then, I have seen firsthand that the United States – a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws – is the most generous nation in the world. But our generosity toward people who want to immigrate to America and work hard cannot come at the expense of securing our international borders.

The federal government's failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation is a reality we live with everyday in our schools, workplaces and hospitals. We can no longer ignore this issue or try to solve the problem at the margins. We need federal action that secures our border, protects taxpayers and creates a forward-looking policy to meet the labor needs of our economy.

To address the root of the problem, I committed nearly 1,000 California National Guard troops – as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Jump Start – to help secure our southern border in June 2006. This unprecedented deployment of troops – the largest commitment of any state in the nation – has been instrumental in assisting the U.S. Border Patrol in the seizure of more than 250,000 pounds of narcotics, the apprehension of 124,000 undocumented immigrants and the training of 2,900 new agents. The Guard’s presence has returned Border Patrol agents to the border, allowing them to perform their law enforcement duties.

These combined efforts have had tremendous success in reducing illegal border crossings and limiting the influx of narcotics and human trafficking. Operation Jump Start is scheduled to end in July 2008, but the operational objective is only half complete: fewer than 3,000 of 6,000 new Border Patrol agents have been added to the force. In addition, as Secretary Chertoff has acknowledged, the goal of recruiting, training and positioning 3,000 additional federal agents along the southwest border will take at least until the end of calendar year 2008. That is why I have offered the support of the California National Guard to maintain security at the border and ensure a smooth transition until these new federal agents have adequate operational control.

I also called on our nation’s officials to attack the problem, not the people, by crafting a comprehensive immigration policy. I support efforts to ensure that our businesses have the employees they need but have been unable to find in our existing workforce and that immigrants are treated with the respect they deserve. While I oppose amnesty, I support a common-sense temporary worker program so that every person in our nation is documented.

Immigration is an important issue that affects California, and I thank you for writing. I truly appreciate your commitment to the future of our Golden State.

Sincerely,



Arnold Schwarzenegger