REAL ID Act Update
License bill nears passage by Congress
By Lisa Friedman
Washington Bureau
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - Congress this week will adopt a measure denying driver licenses to illegal immigrants, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee confirmed Wednesday.
The provision, which Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, said will be part of the $81 billion war- spending package the House and Senate are expected to pass this week, requires states to verify the citizenship or legal status of anyone applying for a driver license.
States that want to issue licenses to illegal immigrants will have to indicate on the documents that they cannot be used for federal identification purposes like boarding a plane or entering a federal building.
"There is a great urgency that people are expressing very clearly to us,' Lewis said Wednesday.
Lewis' assurance combined with President Bush's backing makes it all but certain the controversial measure will become the law of the land. Other parts of what is known on Capitol Hill as the REAL ID Act, like a measure restricting asylum laws, still may face changes, sources said. [please do not take away the cap removal, take away the asylum restrictions--note by "thankful"]
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, vowed Wednesday that lawmakers would wrap up the supplemental spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan by the week's end.
Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, said he is pleased that "the heart' of the REAL ID Act will become law.
"We have said from the beginning of this debate that this is a national security bill, and border security is national security,' he said.
Democrats, civil libertarians and advocates for illegal immigrants denounced the measure while continuing to hold out hope for last-minute changes.
"Maybe there's going to be some trade-offs,' Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, speculated. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, vowed to fight the provisions.
Douglas Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum, said with a three-year deadline for states and no funding offered along with mandates to change licenses, "We're looking at every driver's license in the country for every person being invalid.'
He also said he believes the bill will lead to more unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the road while doing nothing to secure the country.
Currently 10 states allow illegal immigrants to obtain licenses. California does not.
"You can't get a driver's license if you're an undocumented alien in California, so there's no undocumented aliens in California, right?' Rivlin said. "This is a political strategy, not a security strategy.'
Also under the REAL ID Act, the government will be authorized to waive environmental laws in order to complete a two-mile stretch of fence being built near San Diego along the Mexico border.
House and Senate negotiators also will be considering an amendment by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia to add $380 million for border agents and holding beds.
-- Lisa Friedman can be reached at (202) 662-8731 or by e-mail at lisa.friedman@langnews.com .
License bill nears passage by Congress
By Lisa Friedman
Washington Bureau
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - Congress this week will adopt a measure denying driver licenses to illegal immigrants, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee confirmed Wednesday.
The provision, which Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, said will be part of the $81 billion war- spending package the House and Senate are expected to pass this week, requires states to verify the citizenship or legal status of anyone applying for a driver license.
States that want to issue licenses to illegal immigrants will have to indicate on the documents that they cannot be used for federal identification purposes like boarding a plane or entering a federal building.
"There is a great urgency that people are expressing very clearly to us,' Lewis said Wednesday.
Lewis' assurance combined with President Bush's backing makes it all but certain the controversial measure will become the law of the land. Other parts of what is known on Capitol Hill as the REAL ID Act, like a measure restricting asylum laws, still may face changes, sources said. [please do not take away the cap removal, take away the asylum restrictions--note by "thankful"]
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, vowed Wednesday that lawmakers would wrap up the supplemental spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan by the week's end.
Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, said he is pleased that "the heart' of the REAL ID Act will become law.
"We have said from the beginning of this debate that this is a national security bill, and border security is national security,' he said.
Democrats, civil libertarians and advocates for illegal immigrants denounced the measure while continuing to hold out hope for last-minute changes.
"Maybe there's going to be some trade-offs,' Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, speculated. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, vowed to fight the provisions.
Douglas Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum, said with a three-year deadline for states and no funding offered along with mandates to change licenses, "We're looking at every driver's license in the country for every person being invalid.'
He also said he believes the bill will lead to more unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the road while doing nothing to secure the country.
Currently 10 states allow illegal immigrants to obtain licenses. California does not.
"You can't get a driver's license if you're an undocumented alien in California, so there's no undocumented aliens in California, right?' Rivlin said. "This is a political strategy, not a security strategy.'
Also under the REAL ID Act, the government will be authorized to waive environmental laws in order to complete a two-mile stretch of fence being built near San Diego along the Mexico border.
House and Senate negotiators also will be considering an amendment by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia to add $380 million for border agents and holding beds.
-- Lisa Friedman can be reached at (202) 662-8731 or by e-mail at lisa.friedman@langnews.com .
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