Response from Saxby Chambliss

6/7/07

Subject: Responding to your message
Dear Mr. Flair : Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts about immigration reform. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on this important and emotional issue. Our current immigration system is broken and needs reform. Any reform Congress enacts must meet our national security needs and our economic interests; it must also manage the number of people we admit into the U.S. to ensure American workers and families are not negatively impacted by our immigration system. Moreover, all individuals living in the United States must respect and obey our nation's laws. There are times when old and current laws must be reviewed, revised and ultimately strengthened. The time is now to appropriately reform our immigration laws. The recently announced bipartisan agreement on immigration reform is a step in the right direction toward reaching a final and comprehensive immigration bill. This legislation is a significant improvement over last year's bill, which I opposed, but this is not a perfect bill. For me to support any final bill, it must contain the following principles that are important to Georgians: Guaranteed border security first . No amnesty and no new path to citizenship Temporary means temporary - guest workers must go home at the end of their authorized temporary work period End chain migration - replace family-based immigration system with a merit-based system. Eliminate the job magnet for illegal immigrants by implementing a simple, secure employment verification system. English should be the official language of the United States and everyone should speak it. Our nation's immigration problem has been in the making for many years and there is no easy fix. I have chosen to be proactive and engaged during the negotiations because my involvement is the right thing for Georgia and the right thing for America 's future. As the debate progresses, I will continue the fight to ensure that our nation is secure and our economy continues to thrive. If you would like to receive timely email alerts regarding the latest congressional actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please sign up via my web site at: www.chambliss.senate.gov . Please do not hesitate to be in touch if I may ever be of assistance to you.