Washington, D.C.—On September 11, 2001, our nation suffered the most horrible attack ever on American soil at the hands of those with a deep-seeded, enduring hatred for freedom.  Since that day, we have made great strides in improving our nation’s security, but several gaps leave our nation vulnerable to attacks just like those we suffered on that day.  The REAL ID bill would close these loopholes and make Americans more secure.

The situation in California, where a state environmental commission is blocking a national security barrier from being finished, must be remedied.  A three-mile gap remains in a fence which would prevent people from crossing over our southern border, in an area that is home to a military base.  Half a million people are caught there each year, trying to cross illegally—that does not include those who actually get through.  The REAL ID bill would give the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority he needs to ensure that our national security is not compromised for dubious environmental concerns.

Our asylum system presently welcomes fraud by those who seek to do our nation harm.  The REAL ID bill would allow our immigration judges to use common sense to protect Americans, while still providing a safe harbor for those who truly need refuge in our country.

It is outrageous that we can keep people out of the country based on terrorist-links, but the minute they’re in the country, we can’t deport them.  The REAL ID bill would fix this problem which poses a great danger to our citizens.

Perhaps most importantly, our nation’s security will remain at risk, so long as we give validity to those who are in our country illegally in the form of state drivers’ licenses and other IDs.  Drivers’ licenses in our country are de facto federal ID cards.  They allow people to blend in, move around freely inside the country, rent apartments, go to work, and board planes.  If states do not require some valid form of U.S.-government-issued ID to get a driver’s license, any person could walk in off the street and claim to be an illegal alien in search of a license—and be granted one.  To say that this is not an issue of national security is beyond the limits of reasonability.  The REAL ID bill would ensure those to whom we issue government IDs and driver’s licenses are in the U.S. legally—and make it more likely that those to whom we issue IDs do not intend to harm Americans.

Closing these loopholes is—pure and simple—common sense.  We owe it to the American people to finish what we started out to do three and a half years ago, and seal the gaps in our national security structure.  We owe it to the American people to pass this bill.