REAL ID Act of 2005 (H>R> 418)

GOP proposes bill that would suspend ALL laws by valabor
Fri Feb 4th, 2005 at 22:54:48 PST

On January 26, 2005, Rep. Sensenbrenner introduced the
REAL ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418). In the name of
'homeland security', it includes a number of items
changing immigration laws, use of drivers' licenses,
etc.

Congressman F.James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
... If you contact me through e-mail, please be sure to include your postal mailing address. I am here to serve you. Sincerely, Jim Sensenbrenner. ...
http://www.house.gov/sensenbrenner/

But -- most overlooked -- is Section 102 of this bill.
It would empower the Secretary of Homeland Security to
suspend any and all laws in order to ensure the
"expeditious" construction of a set of barriers and
roads 'south of San Diego', to keep illegal immigrants
out. It also would prohibit ANY judicial review of the
Secretary of Homeland Security's decision to suspend
any law. ON EDIT: While the law the bill references
mentions barriers and roads "near San Diego," it does
not appear to be (technically speaking) limited to
that area -- but to any barriers or roads "in the
vicinity of the United States border." (See comments
below).

The text of Section 102 is below:

SEC. 102. WAIVER OF LAWS NECESSARY FOR IMPROVEMENT OF
BARRIERS AT BORDERS.
Section 102(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1103
note) is amended to read as follows:

`(c) Waiver-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have
the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such
Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion,
determines necessary to ensure expeditious
construction of the barriers and roads under this
section.

`(2) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other
provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court
shall have jurisdiction--

`(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any
action undertaken, or any decision made, by the
Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph
(1); or

`(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive,
equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to
arise from any such action or decision.'.

What does this mean? What laws might the Secretary of
Homeland Security suspend?
The first obvious sets of laws that would come under
attack would be environmental and labor laws. On the
environmental side, think "Endangered Species Act." On
the labor side, think "Davis-Bacon" prevailing wage
laws and the right to organize and collectively
bargain.

Also think "whistleblower laws." Homeland Security
wouldn't want any pesky do-gooders blowing the whistle
on corruption in contract awards.

But wait, would all of these suspensions only apply to
the physical, on-location construction of the roads
and barriers?

Nope! There's no such limitation in the law. You can
follow this right to suspend the laws anywhere someone
might be claiming legal rights and slowing down the
process. The manufacturers of equipment and materials
would certainly fall under this provision, for
example. The government workers dealing with any
aspect of this construction, in Washington or
California or wherever would also fall under this
provision. A city council objecting to something about
the project could fall under this provision.

It's an incredible usurpation of the rule of law. A
cabinet secretary is given the right to suspend any
and all laws. And guess what? The courts are
prohibited from reviewing his decision! Perfect! So
the Secretary can abuse his "authority" all he wants.
No review. No nothing. Welcome to the Second Term.

Let me repeat the language:
"the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the
authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such
Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion"

Again:
"the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the
authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such
Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion"

Got it?

The bill may be going to the House floor next week.

==========================

Unfinished business
Washington Times, DC - 1 hour ago
... are no less determined to block this legislation again in 2005 — and, thereby, to perpetuate America's vulnerability. The REAL ID Act (HR 418) would address ...
MORE:

Unfinished business

By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.

If all goes according to plan, the House of Representatives this week will take important, if long overdue, steps toward securing the nation's borders and interior. It was outrageous that these steps, which were among the corrective actions identified by the September 11 Commission, were not taken last year. Worse yet, those who prevented what are now provisions of Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner's "REAL ID" bill from becoming law in 2004 are no less determined to block this legislation again in 2005 — and, thereby, to perpetuate America's vulnerability.
The REAL ID Act (H.R. 418) would address four manifestly unacceptable situations with concrete measures.
First, the bill establishes nationwide standards for driver's licenses. This is critical since these are the identification forms most often used for such security-sensitive purposes as boarding commercial aircraft, gaining access to federal facilities and establishing bank accounts.
In particular, REAL ID would require that the states' license-issuing authorities establish that the applicant has legal resident status in the United States, and that his or her license will be valid only as long as that remains the case.
Such eminently sensible requirements have been endorsed by both the outgoing and incoming secretaries of homeland security, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, respectively.
Coupled with mandates to prevent theft, counterfeiting or inappropriate duplication of licenses, they will help prevent the sort of widespread driver's license fraud that enabled the September 11 hijackers legally to obtain dozens of such IDs. That goal would be further advanced if every state voluntarily integrated biometric data in their licenses, as some have already begun doing.
Second, the REAL ID Act would make it more difficult for terrorists to seek and obtain asylum in the United States. As Mr. Sensenbrenner has put it, the objective is to ensure that "terrorists, like the one who plotted the '93 World Trade Center bombing and the man who shot up the entrance to the CIA headquarters, could not get into the country and roam around as an asylum applicant."
Third, the Sensenbrenner bill would waive environmental laws that have been used to prevent completion of a border fence near San Diego where a 3½ mile gap allows illegal aliens easy access to the United States.
Finally, the REAL ID bill would make it clear that members of a terrorist organization or group that "endorses or espouses terrorist activity" are inadmissible to the United States. It also facilitates deporting any such individuals found in this country.
How, one might ask, could anyone object to these provisions? While they seem straightforward and sensible — and, more to the point, essential when the nation is at war with a hostile Islamofascist ideology whose adherents have proven adept at exploiting our civil liberties — the powers authorized by REAL ID are, nonetheless, strenuously opposed by advocates for illegal aliens and groups sympathetic with, if not actually tied to, the terrorists.
More serious threats to enactment of REAL ID's provisions, however, come from those bent on tying the Sensenbrenner bill to action on one form or another of legislation offering what amounts to amnesty for illegal aliens. The president's proposal for immigration "reform" and variations espoused by Republican senators such as Larry Craig of Idaho and John McCain of Arizona are bitterly opposed by many other Republicans.
As Mr. Sensenbrenner told The Washington Times: "I think they're making a mistake by trying to use this as a horse to get more controversial provisions enacted. That would be a big mistake and would probably jeopardize passage of any reform designed to increase security, as well as reforms designed to make our immigration laws more workable."
The United States urgently needs a national debate about how to address the security, as well as the economic and social, implications of a broken immigration system. It cannot, however, safely afford to wait to fix identified and readily correctible problems with identification, border and internal security until it has achieved consensus on the best way to deal with millions of aliens illegally in this country.
It is bad enough the latter fixes were not included, as they should have been, when the Congress acted on other September 11 Commission recommendations last year. Worse yet, some of the provisions adopted in response to those recommendations and as a sop to Mr. Sensenbrenner and his supporters — notably, providing for substantially more Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers — are not being fully funded in the new 2006 federal budget unveiled yesterday.
This week, the House of Representatives must take up once again the challenge of providing urgently needed tools to those seeking to assure the security of our borders and homeland. And the American people — who want and deserve no less — should make it clear they will hold accountable those who stand in the way of secure driver's licenses, completed border fences and sensible policies toward terrorists in this country.

Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is president of the Center for Security Policy and a columnist for The Washington Times.
http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20050207-085918-8824r.htm

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Congressman F.James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
... 2449 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-4905 Telephone: (202) 225-5101.
My e-mail address is
sensenbrenner@mail.house.gov . ...
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