House Passes REAL ID Act

House Passes REAL ID Act
02/11/05

Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act, with my strong support. This bill will make it much more difficult for foreign nationals to hide their true identity, prevent abuse of our asylum laws by potential terrorists, and will complete the construction of a border fence between San Diego and Tijuana. One of the best parts of this new law is a minimum $10,000 bond requirement before any illegal alien can be released from law enforcement custody. President Bush has signaled his support for this important bill.

The 19 terrorists who attacked our country on 9/11 used 13 driver's licenses and 21 state ID cards. The Real ID Act establishes minimum federal standards for state issued driver's licenses. The bill requires states to verify the citizenship status of people applying for driver's licenses to ensure that terrorists or illegal immigrants cannot use state issued IDs to board planes and enter federal buildings. These new minimum federal standards will not only help keep driver's licenses out of the hands of illegal aliens and protect all Americans against identity theft, the Real ID Act will help prevent voter fraud by helping states weed out illegal aliens from their voter rolls.

Under this new law, which the President has said he will sign, judges can deport illegal aliens more easily and criminal aliens will find it much more difficult to use our generous asylum laws to hide in the United States. As recently as last September, a Pakistani national who applied for asylum was arrested for plotting to blow up the Herald Square subway station and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. The 9/11 Commission found that immigration fraud was one of the "primary methods" used by potential terrorists to get into and remain in the country. The law also prevents liberal judges like those in the 9th Circuit from ruling, as they have before, that an illegal alien should be given asylum in the U. S. because the individual's home country has branded them a terrorist and they might be imprisoned back home! This bill closes this dangerous loophole and makes terrorists deportable.

Congressman Pete Sessions, one of my Republican colleagues from Dallas, passed a terrific amendment to the REAL ID Act. Under current law and current practices, when illegal aliens are rounded up, the law enforcement officials who picked them up routinely release them all as long as the illegals promise to show up in court later so they can be deported!!! Not surprisingly, only about 13% actually show up. I am surprised the number is that high. With Pete Sessions' amendment, each illegal alien will have to post a minimum $10,000 bond, so if they don't show up, the bail bondsmen will track them down or they lose the $10,000.

Finally, the bill removes the legal hurdles that have prevented completion of the border security fence. Currently, 3.5 miles of the fence have not been built because of a string of environmental lawsuits that started in 1993. The fence will help keep potential terrorists and illegal immigrants from entering the country since it is one of the most heavily trafficked border crossing areas.

I am very pleased that the House leadership honored its word and held a vote on this critical piece of legislation. I do not believe we can win the war on terror and protect our families unless we protect our borders and stop the current flood of illegal immigration. The REAL ID Act is a major step towards achieving that essential goal. Chairman James Sensenbrenner and our House Republican leadership all deserve our thanks.

http://www.culberson.house.gov/news.aspx?A=143