Senator Blackburn,
I am a constituent and a voter.  I was disappointed to read your most recent newsletter and see that you seem to be perpetuating the caustic myth that people who come to this country without permission of the US government tend to pose an outsized threat to residents of this country.   I know this to be false statistically and anecdotally.  I might point your attention to an article in the Washington Post "Two charts demolish the notion that immigrants here illegally commit more crime" (June 19, 2018) that shows a negative correlation between crime and illegal immigrants.  In addition to the statistical evidence, I have plenty of anecdotal evidence that leads me to the conclusion that illegal immigrants do not pose an outsized risk to my family.  I have spent my career in education and have worked with many families of undocumented immigrants.  On balance I have found the parents of the undocumented children I teach to be, OVERWHELMINGLY hardworking, thoughtful and respectful people who pass those traits along to their children.  Certainly, there are outliers, but on balance I do not think it fair to portray these people as thugs, rapists, and drug dealing murderers, with a few good people sprinkled in here and there.   Next time you have the occasion to bring guests to the State of The Union, I hope you will bring guests that suggest the complexity of the state of immigration in this country.  There are so many hard-working immigrants -documented and undocumented- who come to this country to give their children the best possible upbringing.   These people work hard, open businesses which strengthen our economy and lead to the betterment of society.  As a parent I am empathetic to the Corcoran family's loss.  The thought of losing a child to violence is almost inconceivable to me.  But it is not fair to use their pain to falsely demonize so many hard-working, good people who wish only the best for their children and whose contributions to our society leads to a better life for us all.

Thank you for your service to the people of Tennessee,
-hmw