The House has wrapped up debate on amendments to the 2012 DHS spending bill. Call your House Rep. NOW at (202) 224-3121 and urge a YES vote on the CRAVAACK AMENDMENT. Rep. Cravaack's amendment ensures that funding from the DHS spending bill complies with current federal law requiring the detention of illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep Lamar Smith (R-Texas) have sent a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano criticizing her decision to delay the implementation of REAL ID by 20 months. States were supposed to be REAL ID compliant by May of this year, but the deadline has been extended to January 15, 2013.
After facing a more hostile House Committee last week, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano testified before the more friendly confines of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Even though the Democratic-controlled Committee allowed Napolitano to be less defensive, she still faced tough questions about border security and the amnesty memos that circulated last summer.
Reps. Lamar Smith, Peter King, and Jim Sensenbrenner have written a letter to DHS Secretary Napolitano urging her to not extend the deadline for REAL ID implementation
There are 18 security benchmarks that states need to meet by May for compliance with the REAL ID Act. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies details how far states have come and what they can to to become compliant in an affordable way.
The Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline, requiring all states and territories to meet REAL ID deadlines by the end of 2009. Forty-six of the 56 states and territories have said they can't meet the deadline, so it's been extended to May of 2011.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the PASS ID Act earlier today through a voice vote. The bill would replace the 2005 REAL ID bill, which many state and federal officials say is too expensive to adhere to. PASS ID, however, would reduce many of the safety precautions included in REAL ID as recommended by the 9/11 Commission.
The author of the Real ID bill, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) along with three Republican Ranking Members -- Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Peter King (R-N.Y.), and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) -- wrote an op-ed published in today's Washington Post defending the Real ID bill.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the ranking members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, expressed concern at many of the provisions of the PASS ID Act -- the bill proposed by Sen. Daniel Akaka to replace the hugely important REAL ID program.
"Missouri lawmakers on Wednesday voted to direct the Department of Revenue to not comply with federal driver’s license requirements.
The federal Real ID Act, passed in 2005, requires states to collect and verify certain information about applicants for driver’s licenses and state ID cards. It was passed in response to national security concerns after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But some Missouri lawmakers argue Real ID is an unwelcome intrusion into privacy and requires several new technologies that could increase the risk of identity theft...."
Hawaii may ban illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses as the state tries to comply with the federal security law known as Real ID.http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9816495&nav=menu554_2
Associated Press
