Straight Talk With Sam: Immigration Policy

Statement

As we move into the 109th Congress I think it is still very important that we have an intelligent debate on this country's immigration policy. I believe that our immigration policy is sick in this country and it needs to be reformed.

Our country is great because of immigration, not in spite of it. In order to maintain that greatness America needs a manageable, common sense immigration policy. My motivation is very simple in addressing this issue: we must protect America from terrorism.

We have made some progress in the last year. I helped bring attention to and eliminate programs like Visa Express, which were the definition of a dangerous immigration policy. Still there is more to be done.

Every stamp of approval on a Visa has potentially deadly ramifications. We must remember that terrorists used our visitor Visa programs to enter this country and murder U.S. citizens. Our borders are the first line of defense in protecting America and we must do a better job of screening incoming visitors.

In this Congress, I will again call for a moratorium on all non-immigrant visitor visas until we have fixed our immigration system. I believe that until we eliminate the fast track programs we have not done all we can to secure the border. I believe that visitors should be properly vetted which would require an interview and background check before they get on U.S. soil. Our policy is sick and we need to stop and fix it.

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