[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20564]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 H.R. 10 WILL IMPROVE HOMELAND SECURITY

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, this week we will consider what is perhaps 
the most significant piece of legislation of this Congress. Following 
the tragic events of September 11, 2001, we all recognized that we had 
to take dramatic steps to ensure that it never happens again. H.R. 10, 
the 9/11 Recommendations Implementations Act, is the culmination of 
years of extensive study, debate and dedication by those who are 
committed to improving our Nation's homeland security.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important bill 
introduced by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) not only 
because it takes extensive steps to reform our intelligence agencies, 
but also because it addresses a critical threat to our national 
security: The porous nature of our borders. We know it is far too easy 
for illegal immigrants to cross the border into this country, and we 
cannot ignore the fact that terrorists can gain access to the United 
States this way.
  So I am particularly pleased that as we worked on this bill, we were 
able to include measures to strengthen our ongoing efforts to eliminate 
illegal border crossings. This legislation adds 10,000 new border 
patrol agents to intercept illegal immigrants and potential terrorists, 
as well as 4,000 new immigration enforcement investigators to track 
illegal immigrants down within our borders. These 14,000 new agents are 
badly needed and will immediately improve illegal immigrant 
interdiction and interception operations.
  Additionally, H.R. 10 allows for expedited deportation of illegal 
immigrants and limits the ability of potential terrorists to claim 
political asylum to avoid being repatriated to their home country. All 
of these measures will upgrade our ability to win the battle that is 
taking place every day along our borders.
  Perhaps most notably, H.R. 10 includes provisions to counter the 
explosive increase in identity fraud committed by illegal immigrants 
and terrorists. This issue is of paramount concern to me, because I 
firmly believe that if we can eliminate job access for illegal 
immigrants, then we will be much closer to completing our ultimate goal 
of eliminating illegal immigration.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, T.J. Bonner, a 26-year veteran of the Border 
Patrol, and president of the National Border Patrol Council, estimates 
that we can eliminate as much as 98 percent of illegal border crossings 
if we can give employers access to verifiable identity information on 
prospective employees and if we crack down on employers who hire 
illegal workers. Ninety-eight percent is a remarkable number, and it 
would allow the Border Patrol to focus on targeting criminal aliens and 
terrorists.
  Because of this, Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 5111, the Bonner 
Plan, to improve the security of our Social Security cards and provide 
a method by which employers could immediately verify the authenticity 
of that Social Security card. My bill would also increase fines for 
hiring an illegal worker by 400 percent, and provide for prison 
sentences of up to 5 years per count.
  A major first step toward passage of the Bonner plan in its entirety 
has been the inclusion of very important provisions to combat identity 
fraud in H.R. 10 which we will be passing as I said this week. H.R. 10 
includes new Federal minimum standards to ensure the integrity of both 
driver's licenses and birth certificates, both of which are widely used 
source documents which allow illegal immigrants to obtain other 
documents and access to social services. These new Federal standards 
will increase the difficulty for illegal immigrants to hide the true 
nature of their illegal status in our country.
  And similar to the Bonner plan, H.R. 10 improves the privacy and 
integrity of an individual's Social Security number, limits the number 
of replacement Social Security cards a person may receive, and 
investigates whether the Social Security number itself can be used as a 
tool to verify a worker's authorization to work in the United States. 
All of these provisions are vitally important to the war against 
illegal immigration and the war on terrorism, so I stand here today to 
enthusiastically express my support for passage of H.R. 10 with the 
immigration measures fully intact.
  Since I introduced it on September 21, the Bonner plan, H.R. 5111, 
has received interest and support from many of my colleagues, including 
Senators Kyle, Cornyn and Chambliss. The bill also garnered a unique 
group and I believe unprecedented group of bipartisan cosponsors, 
including the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), a past chairman of the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as well as the gentleman from Colorado 
(Mr. Tancredo), the chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus. We all 
share the goal of eliminating illegal immigration, and I hope very much 
that we are able to see full and enthusiastic support for H.R. 10 as we 
move ahead with it this week.

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