WASHINGTON — Responding to constituent e-mails about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison’s decision to use the Koran at his ceremonial swearing-in, a Virginia congressman warned that “many more Muslims” will be elected demanding to use the Koran unless immigration is tightened.

Rep. Virgil Goode, a Republican of Virginia, made the comments in a letter sent to hundreds of constituents about Mr. Ellison, a Democrat of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress. The letter triggered angry responses from a New Jersey congressman and an Islamic civil rights group.

In the letter, Mr. Goode wrote, “The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.”

Mr. Goode said America needs to stop illegal immigration “totally” and reduce legal immigration.

Mr. Goode added: “I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.”

Mr. Ellison was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college. He did not return telephone messages left yesterday. Meanwhile, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a Democrat of New Jersey, wrote to Mr. Goode saying he was “greatly disappointed and in fact startled” by Mr. Goode’s letter.