Dear James:

Thank you for contacting me about immigration. I appreciated hearing your thoughts on this important issue.

Some of the most critical issues facing our country today are improving our homeland security, securing our borders, and reforming our broken immigration system. With an estimated 12-20 million illegal aliens currently residing within our borders, it is clear that the current system is not working.

The first and most critical step in solving our immigration problems is securing the border. This is an increasing challenge, especially with the escalating violence in Mexico that has resulted from President Calderon's commitment to fight the drug lords and cartel networks. It is imperative that the United States support President Calderon and our neighbor, Mexico, during this crucial time.

I strongly support expedited construction of a Southwest border fence and enhanced virtual barrier technology, as laid out in the Secure Fence Act that passed with my support in 2006. As a former member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, my colleagues and I successfully worked to nearly double the number of border patrol agents over the past eight years, bringing the total number of agents to 17,499 by the end of 2009. You can be sure I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that Congress provides the resources necessary to ensure the border is secured as quickly and effectively as possible.

While we must secure the border first, we must also fix our broken immigration system. I do not believe that the 12 to 20 million immigrants who have come here illegally should be given any special privileges. They should not be allowed to get on a path to citizenship ahead of the thousands of people who have been trying to come here legally through the proper channels and have been waiting in line for months, if not years. We also need a reliable identification system so we can easily identify who is here legally, whether they are here on a permanent or temporary basis. I believe we must hold employers responsible when they hire people who come here illegally, but we need to ensure we have a reliable identification system first.

As Congress continues to grapple with this complicated problem, you can be sure I will be studying all of the options very carefully.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed on the issues that are important to you. For more information on my work in Congress, or to sign up to receive my e-newsletter, please feel free to visit the 12th District's website at http://kaygranger.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Kay Granger
Member of Congress