To a Senator:
The Honorable (First Name, Last Name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC  20510

Dear Senator (Last Name),

To a Representative:
The Honorable (First Name, Last Name)
House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. (Last Name),

Many Americans realize that the U.S. immigration system is broken and needs improvement.  At present, migrant workers fill essential jobs in the U.S. economy, yet they often arrive without documentation and are subject to deportation and exploitation.  Most are separated from their families, often for years on end.  In our desire to secure our borders and protect our nation from danger, we target migrants as security risks even though the motivation of most is to escape the grinding poverty of their homelands and to create a better life for themselves and their families.  As hundreds die each year attempting to enter the U.S. to find work, we continue to spend millions on enforcement, failing to recognize the economic forces that drive migrants north or the contributions that they make to U.S. communities once they arrive to occupy jobs that support our economy.  

We need a new immigration system which addresses the issue of security but also permits migrants to connect with employers who need good workers.  We need a system that encourages the orderly and legal movement of prospective workers to the U.S. and which allows them to keep their families in tact and to eliminate the family backlog that now keeps families apart.  We need to ensure that workers are not victims of exploitation and have their rights protected.  We need to extend a chance to undocumented migrants to regularize their status in the U.S. if they are contributing workers and meet other obvious criteria. 

All of the above conditions can be met in a bipartisan bill recently introduced by Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy.  Congressmen Flake and Gutierrez are co-sponsors of a companion bill in the House.  This legislation balances security and employer enforcement considerations with the legitimate needs of U.S. employers and the rights of migrant workers.  In this session of Congress, we have a unique opportunity to effect meaningful reform of our immigration system.  I urge you to register your support for the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act.  I also ask you to oppose counter legislation as expressed in the Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act offered by Senators John Cornyn and Jon Kyl which offers only impractical enforcement measures and a modest and complicated guest worker program as a cure for the ills of our immigration system.  We must do better.  The McCain/Kennedy bill would be a hallmark piece of legislation which could transform our outmoded immigration system into a system that is considerably more workable and fair.

Thank you.

Sincerely,