Dear Linda: Thank you for writing me regarding immigration policy. I share your belief that our current immigration laws should be reformed. I have heard from constituents on both sides of this issue, all of whom make passionate arguments. I have concluded that we must pass comprehensive, compassionate reform that reaffirms the rule of law and brings the undocumented population out of hiding through an earned path to citizenship. I worked with Senator Martinez (R-FL) on an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal on December 15, 2005 that argues for comprehensive reform (see enclosure). We also sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee making much the same argument. In my view, the principles put forth by Senators McCain and Kennedy in their bill, S. 1033, created the right foundation for a permanent solution. Senators McCain and Kennedy argue that immigration problems in our country require a three-pronged response: 1) strengthen border security; 2) establish a path to legalization that includes fines and adherence to the rule of law for immigrants and their families who may have entered the United States illegally but are now contributing and responsible members of society; and, 3) create a "guest worker" program whereby American businesses can temporarily recruit foreign workers for jobs that American workers cannot or refuse to fill. Because I agree with that framework, I have co-sponsored the McCain/Kennedy bill, and I can assure you that I will continue to work with Senators Kennedy and McCain and my Senate colleagues to push comprehensive immigration reform. The areas where Senator Martinez and I would like to strengthen the McCain-Kennedy proposal include more specific improvements in border enforcement as well as making it mandatory for employers to use a new, efficient, electronic system for verifying the legality of their workers. Going forward, a new guestworker system should pay people fairly in order to avoid pushing wages down. We believe a functional, fair guestworker program would discourage illegal immigration. But let me be clear. Like our nation's religious and civil rights communities, I oppose enforcement-only approaches like Rep. Sensenbrenner's bill, H.R. 4437. I also oppose the construction of a fence or wall along the U.S.-Mexico border because it would be too expensive, ineffective, and hurt our relations with Mexico. The fence proposed in H.R. 4437 would run 698 miles at a cost of at least $3.2 billion. The House bill was opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, American Jewish Committee, and over 200 other faith-based, business, labor, religious, local governments, civil rights, and ethnic groups. The common denominator of their opposition and mine is that the bill would have a profoundly negative impact on workers, on businesses, on families, and on local communities without making the country safer or fixing any part of the broken immigration system. The President and Congress must look at immigration reform in a comprehensive manner to guarantee not just that enforcement and border security are enhanced but also that all workers, including immigrant and “guest” workers, are treated fairly and are afforded basic labor protections, and that work is rewarded and families are united. I fought for these principles when I spoke on the floor and offered amendments during the recent Senate debate on this issue, and I will continue to urge my Senate colleagues to pass comprehensive immigration reform as soon as possible. I look forward to working with the people of Illinois, my colleagues in Congress, and the President on these issues during my time in Washington. Together I am confident that we will be able to shape immigration policies that benefit both new immigrants and American citizens. Again, thank you for contacting me. Please stay in touch on this or any other issue of concern. Sincerely, Barack Obama United States Senator P.S. Our system does not allow direct response to this email. However, if you would like to contact me again, please use the form on the website: http://obama.senate.gov/contact/ Stay up to date with Barack's work in the Senate and on issues of importance to Illinois. Subscribe to the weekly podcast here: http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/ oh princASS u never seem to amaze me w/ur ignorance r u sure ur not just jealous of my intellectual capabilities? Hmmm! too bad i feel too sorry for u to take u seriously. nice try, u fool no one w/ur lies sweetie!!

got divorced 6yrs ago ex-husband owes 15,000 in child support arrears in the year 2001 we filed a joint tax return at the time of seperation for 4 monts he gave me no support for our kids or household (bills,food,ect) well i got a phone call from h&r block after filing our taxes like about 2 weeks later so i gave him a call stated to him got the checks what do you want me to do he said sign them and deposit the checks and go pay all of our bills and get the kids what they need so i did that now that he owes me money he takeing me to court and states that hes been asking me for the past 4yrs and that i forged his name first of all ive always signed his name he told me to and if i was trying to take the money why would i call him and ask what he wanted for me to do and why would i deposit the money in the bank our bank together now hes saying i owe him 1,800 plus 10% intrest when theres never been a money judgment so what would be your opion on this