Political Quotes

“I want to talk just in specifics about one area with which this bill deals. We know that as a result of the tragedy of September 11 and the continuing problems we are having with anthrax and other threats from abroad, we need to do a better job of seeing who comes into this country to make sure people who wish to do us harm are, if possible, screened out before they get here so people who are visitors from abroad who engage in things that are inappropriate, who violate the terms of their visas or their other status, can be removed. So after the September 11 incident happened and people started talking about problems in immigration, I spent a full day traveling with representatives from the INS in my State. We are in the heartland, but Missouri is directly involved because many of these visitors come to Missouri as well. I know the people at our major ports have even greater problems, but we saw the problems firsthand. I said: Why can't you get somebody out of the country if they overstay their visa? And they asked a very logical question: How do you know where they are? We don't have a good system.”