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Sen. Orrin Hatch joined 11 other GOP senators in a letter Friday criticizing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for saying legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants would be a boon to the economy.

However, Hatch himself has previously called for ways to legalize aliens short of giving them amnesty and has pushed bills to repeal sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers, as well as bills to allow illegal immigrants to receive federal loans and work-study assistance for college.

However, Hatch and Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, more recently have been under attack by Utah conservatives who say they sometimes are too liberal. The critics include several conservatives who are challenging Bennett in his re-election bid next year and have said he is not tough enough on illegal immigration.

Amid that, Hatch joined the group of GOP senators in their letter to Napolitano that criticized a speech where she said, “Requiring illegal immigrants to register to earn legal status … will strengthen our economy as these immigrants become full-paying taxpayers.”

She also said it would be a “boon to American workers” by bringing many illegals out of a shadow economy.

The 12 GOP senators wrote, “With all due respect, legalizing those who have no legal right to be in the United States will not be a ‘boon’ to American workers. Rather, it would only exacerbate the unfair competition American workers currently face as they struggle to find jobs.”

The senators added, “We strongly encourage you to cease any discussion about enacting a legalization program that will only hurt U.S. workers and make it harder for law-abiding citizens to weather this economic downturn.”

Despite that stand now, Hatch had praised earlier efforts by then President George W. Bush to develop a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, as long as it did not offer a blanket amnesty but involved some sort of fine or civic service.

As Hatch told the Deseret News in October 2005, “We are sincere in finding a solution that will work, that will involve less than amnesty.”

The senators’ letter criticized the Obama administration for rescinding a rule requiring employers to conduct due diligence when confronted with evidence that a significant number of employees may have used false or stolen Social Security numbers.

However, in 1990 and again in 1991, Hatch himself ran a bill to repeal sanctions on employers who hire undocumented workers, saying it led many employers to illegally discriminate against Americans who appear foreign or have foreign-sounding names, to avoid sanctions.