[Drafted by Attorney Farhad Sethna – June 25, 2013]
Suggested letter to your Representative and Senator supporting comprehensive immigration reform:
Instructions:
(1) How to find your senator and Congressman: Please visit “house.gov” and “senate.gov” and type in your home address. It will list your congressman and your senator, and their office address
(2) Put the Senator and Representative’s addresses into the letter
(3) Please type or write this letter legibly.
(4) Please be sure to include your name, and a daytime phone number where you can be contacted.
(5) Please be sure to include your address so the Congressman or Senator knows that it came from a constituent who lives in their district or state.
(6) Even if your Representative / Senator supports immigration reform, send the letter anyway – it will help them know that their position is supported by their voters.
________________________________________________________________
(Your name, address and contact phone number)
______________________
(Date)
(Senator / Representative’s office address)
Dear Representative :_________________ / Senator:____________________
I am writing to express my support for comprehensive immigration reform. I believe that comprehensive immigration reform will benefit the United States. In fact, recent Congressional Budget Office research indicates that over 8 million undocumented immigrants would be eligible for comprehensive immigration reform and this legalization will actually reduce the budget deficit. As all of these 8 million individuals obtain some kind of status they will begin to pay taxes, buy homes, buy cars, and create additional demand within the US economy.
From a legal standpoint, most of these undocumented individuals have broken only one law: illegal entry. To spend valuable resources – at a time of severe financial stress – to process 12 million people for deportation makes no sense. The courts will be clogged for years, if not decades, to reduce the inevitable backlog.
From a human standpoint, it is important to recognize that all human beings are created equal and deserve to be treated as such. Most of the undocumented immigrant population is hardworking and wants to be part of the American dream. This nation was founded on the hard work and honesty of immigrants. These new immigrants will continue to enrich the American “melting pot” with their diligence, ingenuity, and family values.
(Add a paragraph here about your own experiences with immigrants or why you believe personally that immigration reform is important and why undocumented immigrants should be legalized and obtain citizenship)
America has long been the land for second chances. Let us give a second chance to these “tired, poor, huddled masses”. Let us be the refuge for the wretched refuse of the world, who come to our shores seeking a better tomorrow. This is America, and this should remain our promise.
Respectfully,
_____________________________________
(your signature)