Dear Mr. rj:

 

Thank you for contacting my office regarding border security and illegal immigration. I appreciate hearing from you and the opportunity to respond.

 

I have always drawn a clear distinction between legal and illegal immigration. Those individuals who come to our country legally and obey our laws should be welcomed. But at the same time we must secure our borders and end the opportunity of illegal entry. The defense of our nation begins with securing our borders, and I will continue to work to provide the necessary resources to keep America safe and secure.

 

To that end, I have introduced legislation to immediately address our current border inadequacies. This legislation will require more agents and better technology patrolling our nation's borders, in addition to construction of a barrier along appropriate sections of our border. Further, it repeals the adverse effect wage rate that encourages the hiring of illegal immigrants, and it increases penalties for alien smuggling, document fraud and gang activity by illegal aliens. This legislation is critical to our national security, and I will continue to work towards its final passage.

 

During floor debate on the Senate Judiciary Committee immigration proposal, I introduced an amendment that would require certification by the Secretary of Homeland Security that our borders are reasonably secured prior to the enactment of any proposal dealing with those who are in our country illegally . Although my amendment is still pending, I am very disappointed that there are some in the Senate who are blocking an up or down vote on it. I am hopeful that the Senate will thoroughly address the immigration issue with the priority of securing our borders first.

 

         Thank you again for contacting me.  Please visit my webpage at http://isakson.senate.gov for more information on the issues important to you and to sign up for my e-newsletter.


Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson
United States Senator

Johnny's a good one.  Saxby ain't half bad either.

Good stuff. There are still a few good men.

Quoted: Dear Mr. rj:   Thank you for contacting my office regarding border security and illegal immigration. I appreciate hearing from you and the opportunity to respond.   I have always drawn a clear distinction between legal and illegal immigration. Those individuals who come to our country legally and obey our laws should be welcomed. But at the same time we must secure our borders and end the opportunity of illegal entry. The defense of our nation begins with securing our borders, and I will continue to work to provide the necessary resources to keep America safe and secure.   To that end, I have introduced legislation to immediately address our current border inadequacies. This legislation will require more agents and better technology patrolling our nation's borders, in addition to construction of a barrier along appropriate sections of our border. Further, it repeals the adverse effect wage rate that encourages the hiring of illegal immigrants, and it increases penalties for alien smuggling, document fraud and gang activity by illegal aliens. This legislation is critical to our national security, and I will continue to work towards its final passage.   During floor debate on the Senate Judiciary Committee immigration proposal, I introduced an amendment that would require certification by the Secretary of Homeland Security that our borders are reasonably secured prior to the enactment of any proposal dealing with those who are in our country illegally . Although my amendment is still pending, I am very disappointed that there are some in the Senate who are blocking an up or down vote on it. I am hopeful that the Senate will thoroughly address the immigration issue with the priority of securing our borders first.            Thank you again for contacting me.  Please visit my webpage at http://isakson.senate.gov for more information on the issues important to you and to sign up for my e-newsletter. Sincerely, Johnny Isakson United States Senator

so I've heard. Pretty much what I've heard is the federal government refuses to do shit, so the state govs are getting together and submitting bills that put a strain on illegal immigrants(goddamn immigrants!).

Hopefully that'll have at least a little effect.

I also e-mailed my reps on this issue, which I don't do often enough, I admit.  I haven't heard back from Mr. Isakson yet, but I got this one from Sen. Chambliss:

Dear Mr. Crunch: Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on immigration and securing our borders.  It is good to hear from you on this important issue. The immigration problem in our country is getting more and more out of control and must be solved.  To address this problem we must secure our borders and establish a comprehensive measure to deal with the illegal immigrants currently in our country without providing amnesty.   The Department of Labor estimates there are between 8 and 13 million illegal immigrants in our country.  The fact that the Department's estimate reflects an uncertainty of 5 million people is evidence of the size of the illegal immigration problem our country is facing.  During my eleven-year tenure in both the House and Senate, I have focused much of my attention on the issue of immigration.  During the 108th Congress, as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary's Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship, I held numerous hearings to highlight the problems associated with illegal immigration and introduced legislation to reform and strengthen our immigration laws. My first priority is to secure our borders.  It is simply an issue of national security to know who is coming into this country and for what purpose.  If we are not able to better secure our borders, it does not matter what reforms Congress makes to our immigration system.   I am pleased that Congress approved important funding for the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve security for our nation's borders in the FY 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. This funding provides $5.9 billion for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and $3.8 billion for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.   This funding is going directly to those responsible for decreasing the number of illegal immigrants in or attempting to get into our country.  The legislation also authorizes 1,000 new border patrol agents to be placed on our borders, in addition to the 500 additional agents approved earlier this year. The homeland security funding bill also authorizes the DHS to hire 300 new immigration/customs investigators and 460 new enforcement agents.  This is in addition to the 168 agents authorized earlier this year, further increasing the number of individuals charged with apprehending the illegal immigrants present in our country.  Overall, this bill funds 12,500 border patrol agents, 18,200 customs and border protection officers, and nearly 6,100 criminal investigators for customs and immigration.  It also provides for 1,300 deportation officers and nearly 2,700 immigration enforcement agents and detention officers. Not only did this bill provide for additional personnel to secure our borders, it also provided important funding to train our immigration enforcement officials so we can continue to place qualified officers on our border.  While this legislation is an important step in securing our borders, there is much more to be done. On December 13, 2005, I introduced legislation that mandates the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and present to Congress a comprehensive plan to gain operational control of our borders and provide real enforcement of our borders and provide real enforcement of our immigration laws.  My legislation provides for interim measures to be put into place to enhance our border security until such time as the Secretary of Homeland Security presents and Congress approves his comprehensive plan.  One of the interim measures in my legislation, S. 2087, requires the Secretary of DHS, in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense, to develop and implement a plan to provide military support to civilian law enforcement agencies, including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance equipment, and other equipment of the Department of Defense, to assist the surveillance activities at and near the United States border.  Another requirement of this legislation is from 2007 to 2011, the amount of positions for full- time, active duty Customs and Border Protection Officers increase by no less than 250 officers per year.                Thank you for taking the time to contact me.  As your United States Senator, I will do all I can to see that Congress establishes a comprehensive solution to the illegal immigration problem facing our country.  As always, I appreciate hearing from you. Additionally, if you would like to receive timely e-mail alerts regarding the latest congressional actions and my weekly e- newsletter, please sign up via my web site at: www.chambliss.senate.gov.   Sincerely, Saxby Chambliss United States Senate

It's nice to hear a little good news for once.  I'd buy those two Senators a beer!

I wrote my senators and congressman earlier this week but I've had no response.

Kay Baily Hutchinson
John Cornyn
Lloyd Dogget

I don't get it, as the one nice Senator indicates they have provided billions to these agencies to protect our borders and curb illegal immigration. Over the last couple of days we've had illegal aliens protesting in huge gatherings, and they announced the TIME and LOCATION! How much easier can it get to round some of these people up? It can't cost billions to do that. I just don't get it.

Quoted: I also e-mailed my reps on this issue, which I don't do often enough, I admit.  I haven't heard back from Mr. Isakson yet, but I got this one from Sen. Chambliss: Dear Mr. Crunch: Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on immigration and securing our borders.  It is good to hear from you on this important issue. The immigration problem in our country is getting more and more out of control Sincerely, Saxby Chambliss United States Senate

Hey, I got the same exact reply

rj

Sounds like you got better than I did Check my thread. above.