Wire Story
House Judiciary Committee chair announces bill to limit terrorists’ travel
By Logan C. Adams -- Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON- House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced legislation Wednesday that he said would inhibit terrorists from gaining entry to the United States and staying here.
Calling it the “Real ID Act,” Sensenbrenner outlined its four “common-sense terrorist travel provisions” at a press conference in the Capitol. In a compromise, the provisions were dropped from the intelligence reform legislation that Congress passed last month in response to recommendations of the Sept. 11 Commission.
He said the bill had 115 cosponsors. Just one, Rep. Lincoln Davis of Tennessee, is a Democrat. Opponents said the bill could hurt those who come to the United States fleeing persecution and gives the federal government too much power.
The first provision, Sensenbrenner said, would require all temporary drivers’ licenses to expire along with the visas of their owners. In addition, visitors wanting to get licenses would have to meet “tough rules” to prove their identity.
“American citizens have the right to know who is in their country,” he said, “that people are who they say they are and that the name on the driver's license is the real holder's name, not some alias.” Sensenbrenner said that Mohamed Atta, one of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, had a six-month visa to stay in the United States but a Florida driver’s license good for six years.
Second, he proposed changing the rules for granting asylum. Citing the case of Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, Sensenbrenner said his bill would make immigration fraud less viable for terrorists. He said that Yousef had “gamed” the asylum system before being arrested for the bombing.
Third, he said his bill would waive federal environmental laws that have prevented the completion of the San Diego border security fence, which Congress authorized eight years ago. “Neither the public safety nor the environment are benefiting from the current stalemate,” he said.
Finally, Sensenbrenner said certain terrorism-based rules that can prevent someone from entering the country are not grounds for deportation. “The Real ID Act makes aliens deportable from the U.S. for terrorism-related offenses to the same extent that they would be inadmissible to the United States to begin with,” he said.
Tim Edgar, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said there are dangers with the proposal.
“We’re very concerned about the asylum provisions of the Sensenbrenner bill,” he said. “They would basically force people who are fleeing persecution to provide documents from the very government that they are fleeing.”
Edgar also said that the driver’s license provision would bring the nation one step closer to a national identification card system because the federal government would be setting requirements for licenses that are the jurisdiction of state governments.
By Logan C. Adams -- Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON- House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced legislation Wednesday that he said would inhibit terrorists from gaining entry to the United States and staying here.
Calling it the “Real ID Act,” Sensenbrenner outlined its four “common-sense terrorist travel provisions” at a press conference in the Capitol. In a compromise, the provisions were dropped from the intelligence reform legislation that Congress passed last month in response to recommendations of the Sept. 11 Commission.
He said the bill had 115 cosponsors. Just one, Rep. Lincoln Davis of Tennessee, is a Democrat. Opponents said the bill could hurt those who come to the United States fleeing persecution and gives the federal government too much power.
The first provision, Sensenbrenner said, would require all temporary drivers’ licenses to expire along with the visas of their owners. In addition, visitors wanting to get licenses would have to meet “tough rules” to prove their identity.
“American citizens have the right to know who is in their country,” he said, “that people are who they say they are and that the name on the driver's license is the real holder's name, not some alias.” Sensenbrenner said that Mohamed Atta, one of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, had a six-month visa to stay in the United States but a Florida driver’s license good for six years.
Second, he proposed changing the rules for granting asylum. Citing the case of Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, Sensenbrenner said his bill would make immigration fraud less viable for terrorists. He said that Yousef had “gamed” the asylum system before being arrested for the bombing.
Third, he said his bill would waive federal environmental laws that have prevented the completion of the San Diego border security fence, which Congress authorized eight years ago. “Neither the public safety nor the environment are benefiting from the current stalemate,” he said.
Finally, Sensenbrenner said certain terrorism-based rules that can prevent someone from entering the country are not grounds for deportation. “The Real ID Act makes aliens deportable from the U.S. for terrorism-related offenses to the same extent that they would be inadmissible to the United States to begin with,” he said.
Tim Edgar, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said there are dangers with the proposal.
“We’re very concerned about the asylum provisions of the Sensenbrenner bill,” he said. “They would basically force people who are fleeing persecution to provide documents from the very government that they are fleeing.”
Edgar also said that the driver’s license provision would bring the nation one step closer to a national identification card system because the federal government would be setting requirements for licenses that are the jurisdiction of state governments.
posted by Logan C. Adams at 1/27/2005 10:57:00 AM
1 Comments:
You're a very good writer. I meant to post this a while ago, but my computer stopped working. It's a piece. And it mocks me and everything I want to use it for. *gets back on track* Anyway, I think that your articles are ninety percent of how I get my news. Thanks! ;)
Mia
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