mr. chairman , yesterday , the u.s. commission on international religious freedom , a federally mandated bipartisan commission , released a comprehensive report documenting the mistreatment of asylees in america . 
for those seeking asylum , we strip-search them and then we thrown them in jail with criminals . 
as we debate this bill , thousands of people seeking safety from persecution are in jail with criminals in the united states . 
they are here fleeing from torture , from rape ; some are here seeking freedom because they have been denied the opportunity to practice their religion , say christianity , in a place where religion is not permitted . 
but when they get here , we lock them up . 
and today we are considering a bill that will make it harder for those fleeing oppression , trying to find safe haven in our nation . 
this bill does nothing to make us safer . 
in fact , we have heard references to those who came prior to the first world trade center bombing . 
we made changes in the law subsequent to that . 
that fix has already been done . 
we do not need to do what is before us today . 
so it is surprising we are not addressing today the shocking findings of the commission report . 
mr. chairman , i want to say something else . 
this bill , despite the protestations , is in fact creating a de facto national id card . 
it establishes one type of id that most americans will carry . 
all our information will be held in databases linked together and readymade for use by the federal government . 
how much will they really know about each and every one of you ? 
this is not just about immigrants , this is about all americans ; and i think we need a national conversation about whether we want that form of big brother . 
