Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney declines to take stand on Senate immigration bill, while Senator John Kerry answers the multiple e-mail messages he has received.

"I'm not sufficiently aware of all the details of that bill to speak on that specific piece of legislation -- and I don't do that in my own state either," said Governor Romney.

[Below is text from an e-mail response from senator John Kerry [Pictured above]on the matter of the current immigration bill that has sparked heated debate on Capitol Hill and across the nation in recent days]

Thank you for contacting me to share your
views on our nation's immigration policy and
the upcoming debate on immigration reform. I
appreciate hearing from you.
There are many facets of our current
immigration system that are flawed and in
need of reform. It is estimated that there
are over 11 million undocumented workers in
the United States. We need a system that
will encourage these undocumented immigrants
to come forward, register, and be counted.
In addition, we need to provide a sufficient
number of work visas to ensure that immigrant
workers fill the needs of our workforce.
Immigrants who work hard, pay taxes, and play
by the rules should be allowed to participate
in a multi-year process to earn legal
residency.
At the same time, we must invest in the
personnel, technology, and communications
between agencies to protect our borders.
Securing the border is a critical piece to
solving the problem of illegal immigration in
this country, and must be part of any
comprehensive reform. However, it cannot be
a solution in and of itself. That is why I
support the Kennedy/McCain reform plan but
oppose the Sensenbrenner Bill, H.R. 4437.
Thank you, again, for sharing your concerns
with me. Please do not hesitate to contact
me on this or any other issue of concern to
you.

Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
United States Senator