Dear "LynnS",

Thank you for contacting me regarding legislation on border security and immigraiton policy. I appreciate your views on these important issues

As you may know, on May 21, 2007 the Senate commenced debate on border security and immigration reform. Given the seriousness of the immigration issues that face America today and the strongly held views by all Americans on all sides of these issues, I believe it is important for Congress to engage in this debate and to work the will of the Senate on these complex matters through a fair and open amendment process. Currently, the Senate is engaged in this debate as it considers a number of amendments to a Senate bill that would focus on three main areas.

First, I hold the view that the Congress should not pass an amnesty bill. In that spirit, I am pleased to report that, in the Senate, there is broad agreement that securing our borders is imperative. The proposed and pending legislation will secure our borders and enhance enforcement of our immigration laws. The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: construct 300 miles of vehicle barriers, 105 radar and camera towers, and 370 mioels of fencing along the land border shared by the United States and Mexico; provide 31,500 detention beds; hire and train 20,000 additional border agents; and implement a mandatory system of electronic employment verification beyond its current pilot program to prevent unauthorized workers. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is required to report to Congress on DHS progress on these provisions. Only after DHS has certified that it has completed these benchmarks could the new immigration reform provisions under the bill take effect.

The second portion of the proposed border security and immigration reform bill creates a legal temporary guest worker program, known as the Y-visa program. This program allows non-immigrant workers to work in the U. S. legally so long as they have secured employment in advance of their arrival to the U. S. and are filling positions that employers have been unable to fill with domestic workers. These workers are authorized to work in the U.S. for a two year period before returning home for one year. These Y visas could be renewed twice for a maximum of six years working in the U.S. under the program. If the non-immigrant workers want to live and work permanently in the U.S., they would have to go back to their home country and seek legal permanent residency (LPR) through the established process for immigrant visas. The bill also provides certain reforms to other established legal guest worker visa programs, such as the H-1B (high-skilled jobs), H-2B (non-agriculture, seasonal laborers), and H-2A (agricultural laborers).

The third portion of the bill addresses the millions of undocumented immigrants already present in the U.S. Accountability and responsibility are new priorities under the pending legislation. Only after undergoing criminal background checks, paying approximately $5,000 in fines, and satisfying other criteria would the bill allow those already present in the U.S. to work here legally and begin the path to legal status through the Z-visa program. These men and women could not apply for LPR for at least eight years and only after they had left the U. S., applied at a U.S. Consulate abroad, and after the elimination of the current backlog of legal applicants. Again, this program could not be implemented fully until DHS has certified that it has operational control of our national borders.

In addition, the bill would increase penalties for employers using unauthorized workers, would replace the current employment based green card system with a merit-based points system, and would put in place a system to eliminate existing problems with visa backlogs.

This bill also provides several programs to help states and localities mitigate the costs associated with unauthorized immigration. In the area of law enforcement costs related to the prosecution and incarceration of unauthorized immigrants, the bill provides $250 million over five years for the newly created Border Relief Grant Program and increases by two years the authorized annual funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) at a level of $950 million. For costs related to public education and health care services, the bill includes a State Impact Assistance Account, which is funded through specific fees on Y-visa and Z-visa applications. It may interest you to know that I have co-sponsored an amendment with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) that increases funding for this account by increasing the fees that applications must pay for themselves and their dependents.

In my view, any legislative approach to provide overall immigration reform must rest on the foundation that outright amnesty is unacceptable and securing our borders is essential. Then, in a sound, workable, and realistic way, we must address the millions of undocumented workers who are already in our country. All components are absolutely essential to ensuring our security as a nation. As the Senate continues this debate, you may be certain that I will keep your thoughts in mind.

Again, thank you for the benefit of your views.