SPRINGFIELD - During a stop at the Strafford Immigration and Customs Enforcement Center, Southwest Missouri Congressman and Majority Whip Roy Blunt outlined Border Security legislation that the House is considering this week to protect Americans by disrupting terrorist travel.

Blunt, a major co-sponsor of the Real I.D. Act (H.R. 418), said, "The September 11, 2001 hijackers used American driver's licenses to board those planes on that terrible day. The lead mastermind, Mohammed Atta, was only able to acquire a six-month visa, but he qualified for a six-year Florida driver's license. We need a uniform law in the United States that issues driver's licenses to foreign visitors that expire when their visas expire. It's common sense, and it will help keep us safe."

The Real ID Act:

Implements strong security standards for the issuance of drivers' licenses, requiring

• Proof of lawful presence in the U.S.

• All states to comply to eliminate weak links in domestic ID security

• Tough physical security requirements to reduce counterfeiting

• Expiration of a driver's license when a foreign visitor's visa expires

Tightens asylum system abused by terrorists; allows immigration judges to determine witness credibility in asylum cases while protecting those who legitimately seek asylum

• Closes the three-mile hole in the U.S.-Mexico border fence near San Diego

• Deports terrorists

• Keep terrorists out of U.S. by ensuring all terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility are grounds for deportation

"Our asylum laws are full of ridiculous inconsistencies that allow suspected terrorists to stay in the U.S.," Blunt continued. "America should no longer be a safe haven for suspected terrorists who are 'persecuted' in their own countries for their involvement with terrorist organizations. The legislation the House will consider this week would close that ludicrous loophole, while protecting those who legitimately seek political asylum in our country."

EDITOR'S NOTE: The bill was sponsored by James F. Sensenbrenner (WI-5). It has 125 co-sponsors. The Real ID Act (HR 418) passed the House on February 9, 2005, with a vote of 261-161.

The bill has several opponents:

http://www.lirs.org/DonateServe/advocate/HR418/

http://www.mnadvocates.org/3Feb2005.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002165536_border31.html

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