House Immigration Reform Caucus Chair Says 9/11 Commission Report Missed the Mark

House Immigration Reform Caucus Chair Says 9/11 Commission Report Missed the Mark

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (CO-06) today reacted to the 9/11 commission report.

"The recommendations in this report are timid at best," said Tancredo, House Immigration Reform Caucus Chair. "Many of the border security and immigration enforcement recommendations made in the report are helpful. However some of these, particularly with regard to border enforcement, dealing with visa overstays, and cooperation between state, local, and federal authorities on information sharing are already enshrined in law. Many of them have been on the books for decades. The problem is not -- nor has it ever been -- a lack of legal authority. The problem, as I have been saying for some time, is that our government simply cannot muster the political will to simply demand enforcement."

"Still others," he continued, "were included in the 1996 immigration bill, but removed by a Congress that unfortunately viewed many of the provisions as 'too controversial.'"

"The report fails to recognize one fundamental fact. Unless we dedicate the energy required to shore up our first line of defense -- border security and immigration enforcement -- many of the other recommendations will be cosmetic at best, and at worst, completely irrelevant," concluded Tancredo.

For more information on this issue or to schedule an interview with the Congressman, please contact Carlos Espinosa at 202/225-7882.

What the Commission Recommended....

How Congress and the Administration Failed to Deliver...

Create a comprehensive, biometric-based, automated system to screen everyone entering and departing from the United States that links all available immigration and intelligence data and verifies secure identification documents

Congress enacted, and the President signed legislation mandating an "entry-exit" screening process for all non-immigrants in 1996 (Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act). Unfortunately, Congress chose to delay its implementation in 1998, and again in 2000

ü Congress enacted in 2002, and the President signed legislation requiring that visa waiver countries issue machine-readable, biometric passports. Unfortunately, Congress is poised - at the administrations request - to delay the implementation of this requirement

ü Current law requires the maintenance of a database of all lost and stolen passports to prevent fraudulent use, but it has not been fully implemented

ü Current law requires interoperability of all government databases containing data on aliens

Improve border security standards for travel and border crossing.

The 1996 IIRIRA included a requirement for machine-readable, biometric Border Crossing Cards for Mexican nationals. Unfortunately, Congress delayed this requirement with a provision in a 2002 bill

ü Current law calls for significant increases in immigration enforcement personnel, but this has not been done

ü A 2000 law explicitly excluded Canadian citizens from the requirements of the "entry-exit" screening process

Secure U.S. identification documents, including passports, birth certificates, and driver's licenses, and increase cooperation between state, local and Federal law enforcement authorities.

The 1996 IIRIRA originally called for federal standards for birth certificates, driver's licenses, and mandatory verification of employment authorization documents to prevent fraud. Unfortunately, opponents successfully struck those provisions because they were 'too controversial'

ü The 1996 IIRIRA precludes state and local governments from refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities by enacting "sanctuary policies', but this law is not enforced.

ü Congress has attempted to regulate the acceptance of non-secure foreign-issued ID such as consular ID cards, but the Administration has opposed and undercut these efforts by enacting Treasury regulations permitting acceptance by financial institutions of consular ID cards, despite warnings from FBI and DHS

ü Current law requires eligibility for federally funded, means-tested public benefits to be verified through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, but federal agencies have failed or refused to enforce the requirement in many cases