http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005 ... 3515.shtml

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005 9:33 a.m. EST

Bill Clinton: Immigration Crackdown Hurting U.S.

Ex-president Bill Clinton is arguing that tighter immigration laws are hurting America, saying the new restrictions aren't worth it even if they stop the "one out of a zillion [foreigners] who might have a bomb."

"I'm very worried that one of the consequences of our tightness on immigration and visas as a result of 9/11 and terror, has led to a drop in many places of the number of foreign students coming to the United States to study and be graduate students," Clinton told an audience at the University of Minnesota on Saturday.

He said the U.S. needed foreign students because "we are nowhere near graduating enough scientists and engineers to maintain, given the size of our economy, a leadership role in the global economy."

Clinton said the terror trade-off wasn't worth it.

"When we got real tough on visas - because one out of a zillion of them might have a bomb - we lost a lot of brains. We might have dodged a bomb but we lost a lot of brains."

On another subject, the former president also praised actress Geena Davis, star of the new ABC Show "Commander in Chief."

"I did see one episode of 'Commander in Chief'," Clinton told the crowd. "Geena Davis is good for two reasons. She looked tough but not macho. She didn't look lion-tough. And she spoke Spanish. So I thought those two things were good."