mr. chairman , i 'm starting to wonder if the republican majority was listening to the president when he called for the united states to act as a beacon of freedom for the world . 
for our first substantive legislation of the year , they would make it nearly impossible for victims of torture and religious persecution to seek refuge in the u.s. and they would get us ever closer to establishing a national id . 
we all accept that sometimes freedom must be sacrificed for security , but the 9/11 commission itself said that these big brother , anti-immigrant provisions do nothing to enhance national security . 
this bill makes changes to the asylum process and state drivers licenses , presumably to address the widely-reported anecdote that the first world trade center bombers abused the asylum system and had a total of 63 drivers licenses . 
however , you have to question the motives of the supporters of this bill when the asylum system was already strengthened ten years ago and the 63 drivers licenses are simply an urban legend . 
the 9/11 commission found that the hijackers actually had 13 , and this bill would not have prevented any of them from being issued . 
so without making the country safer , we 're going to deny refugees and victims of torture , rape , and other atrocities safe haven in this supposed beacon of freedom . 
i guess the asylum system , which is the most rigorous immigration process in this country , resulting in 30 , 000 denials last year , is not good enough for the immigrant-bashers . 
if this bill were to become law , an asylum applicant would have to provide documentary evidence of persecution . 
i hope that residents of the darfur region of sudan remember to grab their personal files as their villages are being burned , because under this law , the presumption of credibility would go to the torturers and rapists . 
the bill would also retroactively make legal donations , even donations made decades ago , grounds for deportation of green-card holders who have lived here for decades if the organization to which a donation was made was later added to a government terrorist list . 
the last section of the bill then goes after american citizens . 
the sponsors know that nobody would support a national id , so they 're just going to turn your drivers license into one without telling you . 
it 'll look the same , but if this bill became law , all states would have to share all drivers license information in a national database , including identifying information , drivers ' histories , and motor vehicle violations . 
on behalf of the oppressed people of this world who actually believed president bush when he said the u.s. would stand with them , and on behalf of americans who do n't confuse secret databases with security , i will vote no on this bill . 
