[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 15 (Monday, February 14, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E225]]


                          REAL ID ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 10, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 418) to 
     establish and rapidly implement regulations for State 
     driver's license and identification document security 
     standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws 
     of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for 
     inadmissibility and removal, and to ensure expeditious 
     construction of the San Diego border fence.

  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in 
opposition to H.R. 418--the REAL ID Act. This bill both distorts and 
undermines the bipartisan recommendations of the 9/11 Commission which 
were crafted to make Americans safer and more secure.
  The REAL ID Act actually deletes key 9/11 recommendations which were 
codified in law by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 
of 2004, provisions that have yet to be enacted,
  Specifically, the REAL ID Act deletes driver's license provisions 
from the 2004 bill. Proponents of the REAL ID Act argue that this 
country needs national standards for driver's licenses and State 
identification documents. The 9/11 Commission took this issue very 
seriously and issued recommendations which were included in the House, 
Senate and White House-approved bill. The legislation expressly orders 
the Department of Transportation, the Department of Homeland Security, 
and States to work together to set national standards for driver's 
licensees.
  The REAL ID Act removes this provision and instead imposes an 
inflexible Federal statute for our State governments. The 9/11 
Commission legislation was intended to ensure that the States would 
have a voice in crafting national standards; it did not suggest that 
the Federal Government hijack the right of States to issue 
identification to their residents.
  The bill also enacts tough new immigration provisions that could bar 
legitimate asylum seekers from receiving refuge in the United States. 
It also restricts the right of judges to review decisions by 
immigration officials at the borders to reject asylum applications. In 
truth, victims of torture and other forms of persecution could actually 
be deported into the hands of their persecutors, a reality that runs 
contrary to our fundamental values of freedom and liberty.
  Even the White House has expressed reservations about the asylum 
provisions in the bill, and has already called for modifications ``to 
ensure the changes do not unintentionally create new barriers to 
asylum.''
  I believe we need to keep our focus where it belongs, on identifying 
and apprehending terrorists, and on making our country more secure. We 
should adhere to the laws enacted by the President and both houses of 
Congress, and give them a chance to work before we begin repealing 
them.

                          ____________________