McKeon Praises Passage of Border Security Act

McKeon Praises Passage of Border Security Act

Washington, Feb 10 - U.S. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) today voted in favor of legislation aimed at disrupting terrorist travel and bolstering border security. H.R. 418, the Real ID Act, includes a number of anti-terrorism provisions the House passed last year in response to the 9/11 Commission's work, but were dropped from the law enacted in December due to Senate opposition.

"Fraud in identity documents is no longer just a problem of theft, it's a problem of national security," said Rep. McKeon. "We must enhance the security of all our nation's identity documents so we are able to establish that people are who they say they are. The federal government would not be fulfilling its role to the American people if it accepted substandard identity documents."

"Today, the House acted swiftly and strongly to secure our borders, protect American families, and see that no terrorist is ever handed an official state drivers' license again."

The Real ID legislation is expected to be included on the first must-pass legislation this year. Yesterday, the Bush Administration announced it "strongly supports" H.R. 418 in a Statement of Administration Policy.

The Real ID Act will boost U.S. border security by:

Requiring ID applicants to provide proof they are in the country legally;
Requiring identity documents to expire at the same time as the expiration of lawful entry status, preventing those who have illegally entered or are unlawfully present in the U.S. from having valid identification documents;

Strengthening judges' ability to determine whether the asylum seeker is truthful. This provision codifies the factors immigration judges use to assess credibility;
Requiring the completion of the San Diego 14 mile border fence on the US-Mexican border; and Providing that any alien contributing funds to a terrorist organization would be deportable.

http://mckeon.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=6852