Thank you for contacting me about immigration reform.

Dear Friends: Thank you for contacting me about immigration reform. This is a complex issue, with many important aspects, and it requires a comprehensive solution. 12 million undocumented workers are currently living in the United States. They're working, paying taxes, and raising children who are U.S. citizens. They contribute to our economy, and it is time to bring them out of the shadows and end their unfair exploitation by unscrupulous employers in communities across the country. Funds for border enforcement have increased dramatically over the years. The budget for the Border Patrol has increased from $263 million in 1990 to $1.6 billion today - a six-fold increase. Yet during this period, hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants have entered the U.S. each year. Our immigration system is broken, and it is clear that border enforcement alone will not fix it. After long and thorough negotiations with the White House and fellow Senators, Republican and Democrat, we have developed a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The bill strengthens border security by increasing the number of border agents, building a border fence, using new technologies to monitor and enforce the border, and imposing higher penalties for workplaces that employ undocumented immigrants. The bill also contains a temporary worker program to help American businesses meet their employment. It addresses the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States by providing a means to obtain legal status after undergoing background checks, paying a fine, and going to the back of the line for greencards. The bill is a realistic and comprehensive solution that will not only protect our borders, but also enable needed temporary workers to enter the country legally, and allow workers already here to earn legal status. It has already been discussed in the Senate once, and despite some setbacks, I hope we will be able to bring it back before the Senate for further debate and passage. By heritage and history, America is a nation of immigrants, and we must preserve this tradition. Making necessary changes in our immigration laws will ensure that immigrant families today, as in the past, can continue to live the American dream and contribute to our prosperity, our security, and our values. Again, thank you for writing to me about this important issue. Sincerely, Edward M. Kennedy