Bill Nelson: “I want to have the Senate recognize an American citizen who, very likely, prevented the entry into the United States of…”

“I want to have the Senate recognize an American citizen who, very likely, prevented the entry into the United States of what is suspected as the 20th hijacker. I want to tell you this story about this immigration officer, who is at the Orlando International Airport. His name is Jose Melendez Perez. Mr. Melendez, a little more than a month before the attacks on September 11, 2001, denied entry into the United States at the Orlando Airport of a Saudi national who had arrived at the airport from the Middle East by way of London. Federal authorities now believe that this man, Mohamed al-Qahtani, was the missing 20th hijacker. He was later captured in Afghanistan. He is now being held in Guantanamo Bay... The fact is, he was just doing his job, but he was so expert in it that he stopped the entry into the United States of this person. He alertly denied al-Qahtani entry into the Orlando Airport based on a combination of indicators that suggested he was up to no good. Mr. Melendez's experience, training, and instincts served our Nation very well.”