Sam Brownback: “the attacks of September 11 exposed the weaknesses in how we protect our borders. Terrorists exploited the shortcomings…”

“the attacks of September 11 exposed the weaknesses in how we protect our borders. Terrorists exploited the shortcomings in our immigration system and the lack of communication between the respective agencies that might have detected and deterred the events of that horrible day. At the same time, however, September 11 has also brought out the best of this great Nation. As a people and as a government, we have united and stood firm in support of our freedom and our principles. Significantly, September 11 has reaffirmed our Nation's pride in its immigrant roots. We have not lapsed into xenophobia, nor have we let terrorism cloud our judgment about the value of our immigrant neighbors or our visitors. We can take great pride in the fact that the Border Security bill which this body passed just two weeks ago, was intelligent and balanced. We were true both to our responsibility to protect our great Nation from those that mean us harm and our responsibility to keep our country open to those who mean us well. We need an agency that is likewise true to both these missions, an agency that can effectively enforce the immigration laws and provide timely and competent immigration services. Sadly, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has failed to perform either mission well, and restructuring INS has long been on the legislative agenda.”