Pearce Votes in Favor of Real ID Act

Rep. Steve Pearce Website ^ | 2-10-05 | Rep. Steve Pearce

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Pearce Votes in Favor of Real ID Act

Washington, Feb 10 - Saying the bill will help keep Americans safe against terrorism, New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce Thursday voted in favor of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005. The House approved the act on a bipartisan 261-161 vote. It establishes stringent requirements for obtaining driver’s licenses and prevents terrorists from abusing the asylum laws of the United States.

The act also expands the definition of a "terrorist organization" and consolidates terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal from America.

“This act strengthens our current laws.” said Pearce. “It seeks to prevent another September 11 type of attack against America by disrupting terrorist travel. It implements the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission by strengthening our border security and better protecting America.”

The bill institutes driver’s license reforms. It would require applicants to provide proof that they are in the country legally. “Currently, several states including New Mexico, do not have such a requirement,” said Pearce. “Lax standards and loopholes in the current issuance process allow terrorists to obtain driver’s licenses. They often obtain licenses from different states and abuse the licenses for identification purposes.”

The REAL ID Act would require 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. However, states would still issue driver’s licenses and identification cards and would control their own driver database.

Pearce said the act also closes asylum loopholes to keep out terrorists.

“The 9-11 Commission’s staff report on ‘9-11 and Terrorist Travel’ found that “a number of terrorists abused the asylum system. The REAL ID Act would strengthen judges’ ability to determine whether the asylum seeker is truthful. This provision codifies the factors immigration judges use to assess credibility and prevents judges from further undermining our national security,” Pearce said.

The act will complete construction of a 14 mile long San Diego Border Fence on the Mexico-U.S. border, that is located near a major U.S. Navy base. Construction was halted in 1997 because environmentalists claimed that the area was a habitat of a rare bird.

Pearce said the act strengthens deportation laws.

“Under current immigration laws,” Pearce said, “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/she 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 or she may not be deportable. This act corrects that problem.”

“The REAL ID Act would finally make the laws consistent on deporting aliens on all terrorist-related offenses. The REAL ID Act also provides that any alien contributing funds to a terrorist organization would be deportable,” Pearce concluded.

The act now moves on to the Senate.

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