Mr. President. Senator SESSIONS and I are introducing legislation today that will enhance our national security by expanding and strengthening the current passport and visa fraud laws. The Passport and Visa Security Act bill adds much needed law to punish trafficking in passports and visas and clarifies the current criminal law. It also punishes those who engage in schemes to defraud immigrants based on changes in the immigration law. This bill is an improved version of a bill Senator SESSIONS and I introduced in the 109th Congress. We both have long been concerned about the need to strengthen our national security by strengthening our document fraud laws. In fact. we introduced our passport fraud bill well before the comprehensive immigration reform bill was passed in the Senate last Spring. For that reason. I was pleased that the comprehensive immigration reform bill contained important document fraud provisions. This bill builds on those provisions. The evidence has shown repeatedly that false immigration documents provide a gateway for organized crime and terrorism. The need to take action against this crime is clear. For too long. the Federal Government has moved too slowlyor not at allto enhance our border security. According to the 9/11 National Commission Staff Report on Terrorist Travel. prior to September 11. 2001. no agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Still today. over five years since the tragic attacks on September 11. the Federal Government has failed to devote sufficient time. technology. personnel and resources to make border security a cornerstone of our national security policy. Last year. Congress passed a law to build a border fence. I believe this law was an important first step. but a fence alone cannot sufficiently protect our vulnerable borders. In fact. as the 9/11 Commission report demonstrates. individuals with fraudulent documents can pose a far greater threat to our national security than those traveling with no documents at all.
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immigrants visa visas border fence Visa border security immigration