Through your position in the community
and contact with my office, I am aware of your interest in
dialoguing with my office on issues pertinent to your field of
work. At the present time, we are debating immigration reform in
the U.S. Senate. Given the far reaching implications of immigration
reform, I would like to share with you my thoughts on this important
and emotional issue and hope to receive your feedback to help me
make the right decisions for Georgians.
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.
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 go home at the end of their authorized temporary
work period.
·
End chain immigration –
replace family-based immigration system with a merit based one.
·
Eliminate the job magnet
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.
Senator Saxby Chambliss
100 Galleria Parkway, Suite 1340
Atlanta, GA 30339
tel: 770-763-9090
fax: 770-226-8633