|
A nation is only secure as its borders. Since September 11, 2001 Congress has been working to strengthen America's borders and keep better track of who is moving in and out of our country. We have made progress, but we must continue to build on recent reforms to ensure a more secure America.
There have been many disturbing reports of illegal aliens crossing our countries borders and taking advantage of loopholes in our immigration system. During the nine-month period from October 2003 through June 2004, over 44,000 non-Mexican aliens were caught trying to cross the northern and southern U.S. borders. Of these aliens, eight were from Afghanistan, 10 from Iran, six from Saudi Arabia, 13 from Egypt, and 122 from Pakistan. The Sept 11th hijackers had, within their possession, at least 15 valid drivers' licenses and numerous state issued identity cards with a large variety of addresses.
Provisions to help fix these loopholes were included in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill (H. Res. 258) which was signed into law on May 11, 2005. These border security provisions were recommended by the 9/11 Commission to make our country safer.
One provision would require federal I.D. applicants to provide proof they are in the country legally if their drivers’ licenses are to be accepted as a form of identification to a federal official. Lax standards and loopholes in the current issuance processes allow terrorists to obtain driver’s licenses—often multiple licenses from different states—and abuse these licenses for identification purposes. This bill would require temporary 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.
The 9-11 Commission’s staff report on “9-11 and Terrorist Travel” found that “a number of terrorists . . . abused the asylum system” The liberal 9th Circuit Court has severely undermined current authorities by limiting the factors that judges can consider when assessing the credibility of an alien seeking asylum. This impairment encourages asylum fraud. The border security provisions in H. Res. 258 would strengthen judges’ ability to determine whether asylum seekers are credible and to consider the totality of the circumstances and all relevant factors.
Under current immigration laws, prohibitions on some terrorist-related activities only apply to aliens who are trying to enter the U.S., but not to those who already reside within our borders. Therefore, if an alien seeking a visa has been found to participate in certain terrorist-related activity, he is prohibited from entering the U.S. But if an alien is found to have participated in the same terrorist activity in the U.S., he may not be deportable. The provisions in the Conference agreement on H. Res. 258 would finally make the laws consistent by providing that all terrorist-related offenses makes aliens inadmissible and would also be grounds for their deportation. Under this new law, any alien contributing funds to a terrorist organization could be subject to deportation.
These reforms build on the progress Congress has made since the events of September 11, 2001.We will continue to look at reforms that will better protect our country and ensure terrorists will no longer be allowed to move freely throughout our country.
|
