McCain Answers Immigration Questions


March 15, 2007--Republican John McCain is in Iowa today, facing questions about what he would do to stop illegal immigration. The presidential candidate made stops in Ames and Mason City, and faced the questioning from Jeff Heiden, an Iowa National Guardsman who voluntarily served on the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants.

Heiden asked, "Having served like you, sir, I want to know on behalf of other veterans, why we are not protecting our borders at all." Heiden was one of the many veterans in the crowd of several hundred at McCain's town hall meeting Thursday afternoon.

Heiden listened to McCain and may vote for him, but left wondering how the next president will really stop people from illegally crossing the border.

"If we can convince them that there's no way if they come across the border, they can get a job, if they don't have the proper documents, which no employer should hire an employee without, then you're going to dry up this magnet of drawing people across," McCain said.

Heiden said, "We can't perpetually take in so many people from so many countries where, when they sneak across, we have no idea who is where anymore. We could have people wanting to cause us harm coming through any given night."

McCain told the crowd the National Guard is stretched too thin fighting the war on terror to patrol the Mexican border. As president, he would rather hire thousands before more border patrol agents.

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