AP: Please explain whether you support a bill recently passed in the Senate that would give more money for border security, a guest worker program and a shot at citizenship for illegal immigrants.

CASEY: ... From 1999 to 2003, the number of employers who were notified that they would be fined for hiring illegal immigrant went from 417 in 1999 to 3 in 2004. In 1999, there were 2,849 work site arrests. By 2004, that number dropped to only 159.

I support a new direction. My preference was to address the problem in two steps: secure our borders and increase enforcement for employers who hire illegal immigrants first, before dealing with the problem of the illegal immigrants already here. The bipartisan immigration bill that passed the Senate recently, however, attempts to address a myriad of immigration problems in one bill. I have serious reservation about this "kitchen sink" approach, but doing nothing is a far worse option. The immigration bill does contain important reforms that I support - like increased security at our borders and increased enforcement - and I believe, while far from perfect, it will help address the problem…

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AP: What's the ideal solution for dealing with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States?

CASEY: Ideally, we would have cracked down on employers who hire illegal immigrants and secured the borders ten years ago. ... We need to secure the border and make sure employers do not hire illegal immigrants. I support tough penalties for corporations that hire illegal immigrants. My opponent voted against tougher penalties for those corporations again this year.

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AP: Please explain whether you do or do not support building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

CASEY: I support provisions passed by the Senate to strengthen border security by building fences at strategic points on the border, by increasing the number of border patrol agents, and implementing other measures to secure the borders...

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AP: Many employers hire illegal immigrants. What role do businesses have as part of the solution? What penalty should be there be - if any - for those who hire illegal immigrants? Should it be a felony to hire illegal immigrants?

CASEY: Enforcement is the key. The Bush administration's inaction on cracking down on employers that hire illegal immigrants contributed to this problem.

I supported a proposal passed by the Senate to double fines for employers that hire illegal immigrants, increase the number of inspectors from 200 to 10,000, and create an electronic verification system. Under this amendment, repeat offenders could face up to three years in prison…

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AP: How critical of an issue is illegal immigration in Pennsylvania? Do you think Pennsylvania is helped or hurt by illegal immigrants who come here to work?

CASEY: Studies have shown that lax action against businesses that cheat the system by hiring illegal workers contributes to depressing wages. ...

…McCaskill, in turn, reaffirmed her longstanding argument that the best way to battle illegal immigration is to enforce stiff penalties on employers who knowingly hired illegals and, for example, "put 14 in a hotel room ...and pay them $200 in cash on Fridays" to work as roofing or lawn crews.

Such jobs are the real enticement for illegal immigrants and their disappearance is the best was to discourage it, the senator said.

However, McCaskill emphasized that she also had sympathy for some teenagers who had been brought to the United States as infants or toddlers by their illegal-immigrant parents. The teens (some who were unaware of their illegal status) now face deportation, because their status became known when they applied for college or the military.

"We have a heart-breaking example of young woman in mid-Missouri. Who's valedictorian of her class,'' McCaskill said. "Huge community leader in her church. Now having trouble staying the country because her parents didn't follow the rules.'' …

…"The DREAM Act is hard,'' McCaskill said. But she then added, "I will probably vote for the DREAM act. I didn't vote for it last time."

The difference with the new version is that it's tightly tailored to address only a limited number cases of illegal-immigrant teens who have been longtime U.S. residents and could be productive adult citizens, McCaskill said…

Kyl isn't saying no to immigration reform out of hand, but he supports a position first articulated by McCain during the campaign: that Congress must convince the American people that the borders are secure before pursuing other reforms that critics view as benefiting illegal immigrants…

He also credited Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Kennedy for their willingness to make concessions, particularly on restricting family "chain migration," upon which Kyl says few other countries base their immigration systems. With chain migration, immigrants can facilitate visas for relatives.

Kennedy's conciliatory attitude prompted Kyl to make concessions, too. He agreed to a proposed pathway to citizenship for many who are now in the country illegally. Kyl prefers a system based on the U.S. marketplace's need for temporary workers and had opposed such a pathway in 2006.

"I doubt that the public thinks we're there yet, and I'm not sure that the same basic trade-offs will be agreed to again," Kyl said. "I don't know whether the Obama administration would be willing to consider the same changes, but they were critical to my support for the ultimate bill. And if they alter the agreement significantly, and I suspect they will do so, then the equation for trade-offs becomes totally different."