In New Hampshire, Christie Says He Would Track Immigrants Like FedEx Packages
Says we lose track of immigrants "the minute they come in."
— -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said today that if he is elected president he will track immigrants and foreign visitors the way FedEx tracks packages.
"At any moment, FedEx can tell you where that package is. It's on the truck. It’s at the station. It's on the airplane," Christie said, speaking at a VFW hall in New Hampshire Saturday morning. "Yet we let people come to this country with visas, and the minute they come in, we lose track of them."
As president, Christie said, he would enlist the help of Fred Smith, founder of Federal Express, to show Immigration and Custom Enforcement how to track immigrants who might otherwise overstay their welcome.
"We need to have a system that tracks you from the moment you come in, and then when your time is up, we go get you and tap you on the shoulder and say, 'Excuse me, thanks for coming, time to go,'" Christie said.
Campaign spokeswoman Samantha Smith, daughter of Fred Smith, clarified the governors comment this morning saying, "What he is talking about is better leveraging technology not only in this regard issuing visas to track, but also using drones on the border."
Today’s FedEx comment is the second time this week Christie mentioned the shipping company in response to a question on immigration.
In an appearance Thursday on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Christie advocated the use of drones and other technology to better police our borders.
"How is it that Federal Express can track a package and tell you anywhere it's going to be," Christie said. "And yet when someone comes in with a visa, we lose 40 percent of the immigration in this country comes with not being able to track people. They come in on a visa and they overstay."
Fox’s Steve Doocy added, "Let's have Amazon.com keep track of people," to which Christie responded, "I think Federal Express is better."
So far in his campaign, Christie has taken a moderate stance on immigration. He does not endorse building a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico and has advocated for a stronger E-Verify system to hold employers who hire illegal workers accountable for their actions.
This morning’s town hall was Christie's 19th such event in New Hampshire since launching his campaign in June.