mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , the purpose of my amendment is to require the department of homeland security within 6 months to get information on a number of types of criminal illegal aliens into the national crime information center . 
this makes sense for law enforcement , it makes sense if you are going to go after the gang problem , and it even makes sense to address our illegal immigration problem . 
the ncic is a computerized index of criminal justice information available to the federal , state , local law enforcement , and other criminal justice agencies . 
it is operational 24 hours a day , 365 days a year . 
this information helps apprehend fugitives , locates missing persons or property , and protects law enforcement officers . 
all records in ncic are protected from unauthorized access . 
mr. chairman , i would say to my colleagues , there should be no fear in using this database to get this vital information into the hands of law enforcement . 
it is a good system . 
it is a tested one . 
under my amendment , information on three types of aliens would be included in the national crime information center : first , those aliens with a final order of removal issued against them . 
these are absconders who are flagrantly violating our laws . 
recent estimates , remember that word `` estimates , '' recent estimates say that there are over 400 , 000 in our country today . 
of this number , approximately 85 , 000 are criminal aliens . 
i do not mean jaywalkers either . 
i mean murderers , rapists , and pedophiles . 
second , there are those who signed a volunteer deportation order . 
the third group , a very important group , are those who have overstayed their visas . 
essentially , we are dealing with those who our government says should not be here , those who have themselves said they should not be here , and those who are overstaying their permission to be here . 
this first category , visa overstays , is the difference between the language in my amendment and that of the previous one offered by my good friend , the gentleman from virginia ( mr. goodlatte ) xz4001540 , who incorporated much of my language into his good amendment ; and i applaud him for that . 
lest my colleagues forget , this final category , those who overstay their visas , has given us some of the most heinous criminals recently . 
the chief planner of the 9/11 attacks , mohammed atta , overstayed his visa , along with a number of other hijackers . 
sheik omar rahman , the spiritual leader of the world trade center bombers and the plot to attack new york city landmarks , overstayed his visa , among other immigration violations . 
mahmud abouhalima entered on a tourist visa in 1985 , which expired in the spring of 1986 . 
he was given permanent residence in 1988 as part of an amnesty for agriculture workers . 
there was no evidence , however , that he was ever an agriculture worker . 
he made several trips to afghanistan where he received combat training . 
he was implicated as a lead organizer in the 1993 plots to bomb new york landmarks . 
mohammed salameh entered on a 6-month tourist visa issued in jordan in 1988 . 
he should never have qualified for the visa by law as he fit the profile of intending immigrant . 
he rented the truck in the 1993 wto bombing . 
eyad ismoil entered on a student visa in 1989 , left school after three semesters , violating the terms of his visa , and became an illegal alien . 
he later drove the world trade center van full of explosives . 
more facts about visa overstays that might startle folks a little bit : at least 40 percent of the noncitizens who stay in the united states illegally , and perhaps more than half , did not sneak across the border . 
visa overstays were described as a `` disturbing and persistent problem '' in a report by the justice department 's inspector general . 
now , here is the punch line . 
this was all written on november 8 , 1998 , in the dallas morning news , nearly 3 years before the attacks of 9/11 , and approximately 6 1/2 years ago . 
this visa overstay language is therefore key to this amendment and key to our safety and security . 
this amendment is necessary . 
this language regarding visa overstays makes us safer . 
i urge my colleagues to support this amendment . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
