sluggo
03-15-2008, 08:02 AM
Dear Mr. sluggo,
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and the REAL ID Act of 2005, H.R.418. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue.
The REAL ID Act was signed into law by the President in 2005. The REAL ID Act was included in a funding bill for the War on Terror and Tsunami relief. While I supported funding these important causes, I did not support including the REAL ID Act in the package.
This law established certain minimum standards for States if they want their drivers licenses or non-driver ID's to be accepted for federally mandated purposes, such as boarding a plane or entering a federal facility. The law also prevents the abuse of asylum laws of the United States and ensures construction of a border fence outside California.
There have been some concerns associated with the REAL ID Act, comparing it to a national identification card. The REAL ID Act does not create a national identiification card, rather it increases the security surrounding drivers licenses and personal identification cards by setting new minimum standards that States must meet in order to have their cards used for Federal purposes. I have reservations about the creation of a national identification card, but I am not opposed to creating standards that States drivers' licenses or non-driver IDs must meet in order to be federally recognized. The threat posed by terrorist travel within the United States demands nothing less than a good system that allows us to verify identity.
Although I believe one of the goals of the REAL ID Act is to improve homeland security, the bottom line is that we will never solve our immigration problems if we choose to solve only part of the problem. I believe the enactment of the REAL ID Act will help enforce the immigration laws on the books and monitor who enters our borders. I believe that we should only permit those individuals into our country who respect our laws and our system of government.
Thank you again for sharing your views on this important matter with me. If I can be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me or visit my website at http://burr.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Richard Burr
United States Senator
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There is so much wrong with this letter, I don't even know where to begin. :rolleyes:
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and the REAL ID Act of 2005, H.R.418. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue.
The REAL ID Act was signed into law by the President in 2005. The REAL ID Act was included in a funding bill for the War on Terror and Tsunami relief. While I supported funding these important causes, I did not support including the REAL ID Act in the package.
This law established certain minimum standards for States if they want their drivers licenses or non-driver ID's to be accepted for federally mandated purposes, such as boarding a plane or entering a federal facility. The law also prevents the abuse of asylum laws of the United States and ensures construction of a border fence outside California.
There have been some concerns associated with the REAL ID Act, comparing it to a national identification card. The REAL ID Act does not create a national identiification card, rather it increases the security surrounding drivers licenses and personal identification cards by setting new minimum standards that States must meet in order to have their cards used for Federal purposes. I have reservations about the creation of a national identification card, but I am not opposed to creating standards that States drivers' licenses or non-driver IDs must meet in order to be federally recognized. The threat posed by terrorist travel within the United States demands nothing less than a good system that allows us to verify identity.
Although I believe one of the goals of the REAL ID Act is to improve homeland security, the bottom line is that we will never solve our immigration problems if we choose to solve only part of the problem. I believe the enactment of the REAL ID Act will help enforce the immigration laws on the books and monitor who enters our borders. I believe that we should only permit those individuals into our country who respect our laws and our system of government.
Thank you again for sharing your views on this important matter with me. If I can be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me or visit my website at http://burr.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Richard Burr
United States Senator
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is so much wrong with this letter, I don't even know where to begin. :rolleyes: