Representative Barr sent me an e-mail with a short questionnaire on immigration reform. He didn’t just send it to me, he sent it to his entire constituent e-mail list. I don’t know how many voters in the Sixth District are on the list, but hopefully it is a large number, and a high percentage of the population. Democracy should be a two way street, and these e-mails (and questionnaires) are an important part of that. I assume most members of Congress have similar constituent e-mails, but Barr should certainly be commended for this effort.
This particular questionnaire dealt with immigration reform, and it is good to know that Barr is reaching out to his constituents to see what they think. I had one small quibble with the form: some of the questions don’t have a real range of possible answers, but seem to be skewed. Take the fourth question:
The U.S. Senate is debating a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally if they meet certain requirements. Which comes closer to your view about how to handle undocumented immigrants who are now living in the U.S.?
[] Undocumented immigrants should be deported and should not be allowed to stay in the country legally under any circumstances.
[] I would consider supporting a way for them to stay in the country legally without any special path to citizenship, if penalties are paid and certain border security, interior enforcement and other requirements are met.
[] Other
Why not a variation of the second answer that allows potential citizenship?
But again it is good to see that Representative Barr is communicating with his constituents.
A version of the Questionnaire can be found here: Barr Immigration Questionnaire.
