It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill was in the Ozarks Thursday to hear from community leaders and the public. KSMU’s Justin Lux reports.
The senator arrived at the Library Center in Springfield to meet with business and community leaders at an invitation only event. After the discussion McCaskill took a moment to talk to reporters.
One of the topics McCaskill touched on was a newly signed immigration bill that will not only beef up border patrol security, but also enforce fines on companies that hire illegal immigrants. The bill was introduced in the Senate by McCaskill.
The bill is expected to cost around $600 million. But McCaskill says that the money will not come from taxpayers’ pockets.
“The method that we’ve used, charging extra for these foreign visas, will be sufficient to pay for that additional help along the border. So the bill is fully paid for, we’re not adding to the deficit by this bill,” McCaskill says.
McCaskill says she expects these stiffer fines to open up more skilled jobs for American workers while the country continues to still struggle with the recession.
The bill will also add 1,500 border patrol agents, as well as surveillance drones that will aid the U.S. border personnel.
McCaskill also made brief stops at town hall meetings in Dexter and Fredericktown on Wednesday before stopping in Rolla to address questions from the local community.
For KSMU News, I’m Justin Lux.
