SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that if Silicon Valley executives want to persuade Congress to let them hire more high-skilled professionals from abroad, they would have a better case if they also funded college-based training programs for U.S. workers.

The former secretary of state described herself as a champion for Internet freedom and believer in the power of social media at a conference for marketing professionals in San Francisco, the first stop on a multi-day speaking tour that will take her to three Western states.