[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E236-E237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          REAL ID ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL T. McCAUL

                                of texas

                    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.

  Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, today I rise in support of the 
Real ID Act. I would like to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for his 
leadership and determination to make America safer through reforms 
proposed in this legislation.
  As the former chief of counter-terrorism in the U.S. Department of 
Justice for the Western District of Texas, I had jurisdiction over the 
Texas-Mexican border. I dealt firsthand, with the day-to-day threats 
our nation faced, and asked the question, ``Why aren't we doing more to 
secure our borders?''
  The House took an initial step toward answering this question when it 
passed the historic 9-11 legislation last December. Unfortunately, some 
key border security and immigration reform provisions were not included 
in that measure. Today we must change that and give our nation more 
security.
  And today we truly have the opportunity to better our border security 
and political asylum laws.
  In 1993 Ramzi Yousef, soon to become the world's most wanted 
terrorist, arrived at Kennedy airport carrying a fraudulent Iraqi 
passport and told the INS he was fleeing the oppressive regime of 
Saddam Hussein. He asked for political asylum and was given a summons 
to appear at a hearing. But instead, this expert bomb maker ignored 
that order and joined his fellow classmates from the Bin Laden academy 
to form the first Al Qaeda cell in the United States. On February 26, 
1993 Ramzi Yousef and his fellow terrorists detonated a bomb in the 
World Trade Center. Remarkably, the towers remained standing. They were 
supposed to fall that day, one toppling over the other killing everyone 
inside. That day would come later.
  Many of those of intent on doing our nation harm claim political 
asylum as their Trojan horse to gain access to our borders. Yet a 
majority of those given notices fail to show up at those hearings. We 
cannot afford or allow another Ramzi Yousef to cross our border. Our 
laws should not protect terrorists like Ramzi Yousef who hide behind 
the privileges and rights of political asylum.
  This bill will make it easier to deport suspected terrorists.

[[Page E237]]

  But we have also seen terrorists take advantage of other holes in our 
laws. The nineteen hijackers on September 11, 2001 had fraudulently 
obtained dozens of American visas, passports and driver's licenses, 
documents used to open bank accounts, establish residency, and yes to 
fly airplanes. This border security legislation provides the safety 
measure, that to obtain a driver's license, one of the most commonly 
used forms of identification in the United States, a person must simply 
prove they have the legal right to remain in our nation.
  For the safety and security of this nation, our families, and most of 
all our freedom, I urge my colleagues to support these common-sense 
proposals. The 9-11 commission recommended these ideas,and we owe it to 
the victims of that national tragedy to pass this legislation. If we 
fail to do so and another terrorist attack occurs on our soil then we 
will all be held accountable.

                          ____________________