Thank you for your email 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. And 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 first order of business for the federal government is to safeguard our borders. Last year, I asked officials in Washington, DC, to better fund these security requirements. As a result of my efforts, the federal government has made substantial progress in increasing the number of Border Patrol agents and expanding the technology used in border security.

I have also encouraged federal legislation to criminalize border tunnels that are used for smuggling. Since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, 40 transitional tunnels have been found along the U.S. border, 21 of which were on the California-Mexico border. At this year's Border Governors Conference, I continued to lead the charge in support of bills by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman David Dreier that would criminalize these dangerous access points to our nation.

The cost of incarcerating illegal aliens who commit crimes is estimated at $750 million each year, an expense California taxpayers continue to bear. I have urged, and will continue to seek, more federal funding from President Bush and the United States Congress to reimburse our state for the cost of incarcerating criminal aliens. My efforts last year led to a $100 million increase for the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.

In addition, I have committed nearly 1,000 California National Guard troops to help secure our southern border. This unprecedented deployment of troops - the largest commitment of any state in the nation - has already resulted in a substantial decrease in the number of individuals who are entering California illegally and demonstrates my commitment to being part of the solution to the problem of illegal immigration.

I also called on our nation's officials to attack the problem, not the people, in 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 deeply affects California, and I thank you for writing. I value the comments of people like you who care about the future of our great state.

Sincerely,


Arnold Schwarzenegger