mr. speaker , the real id act completes the mission of the 9/11 commission recommendations by implementing common sense reforms to strengthen our borders security and better protect our homeland .  driver 's licenses have become the primary identification document in the united states , enabling individuals to get other identity documents , transfer funds to a u.s. bank account , obtain access to federal buildings and other vulnerable facilities , purchase a firearm , rent a car and board a plane .  lax standards and loopholes in the current issuance processes allow terrorists to obtain driver 's licenses -- often multiple licenses from different states -- and abuse the license for identification purposes .  the sept 11th hijackers had , within their possession , at least 15 valid drivers licenses and numerous state issued identity cards with a large variety of addresses .  identification documents are the last opportunity to ensure that people are who they say they are and to check whether they are terrorists .  the real id act would require applicants to provide proof they are in the country legally .  currently , eleven states do not have such a requirement , meaning a majority of states have already recognized the need for tighter standards , but unnecessary and dangerous gaps in the system still exist .  the real id act would require identity documents to expire at the same time as the expiration of lawful entry status , preventing those who have illegally entered or are unlawfully present in the u.s. from having valid identification documents .  states would still issue driver 's licenses and identification cards and would control their own driver database .  the 9-11 commission 's staff report on `` 9-11 and terrorist travel '' found that `` a number of terrorists .  .  .  abused the asylum system '' .  examples of terrorists abusing our asylum laws : the `` blind sheik '' , sheik omar abdel rahman , led a plot to bomb new york city landmarks .  rahman used an asylum application to avoid deportation to egypt after all other means of remaining in the u.s. failed .  the 9/11 commission staff report noted than an immigration judge held a hearing on rahman 's asylum claim weeks before his followers bombed the worid trade center .  during the republican convention last august , an illegal alien from pakistan was picked up and arrested for attempting to bomb the herald square subway station and plotting to bomb the verrazano narrows bridge .  he was quoted as saying that `` i want at least 1 , 000 to 2 , 000 to die in one day. '' the alien had applied for asylum .  a number of courts , specifically the 9th circuit court has severely undermined current authorities by limiting the factors that judges can consider when assessing the credibility of an alien seeking asylum .  this impairment encourages asylum fraud .  the real id act would strengthen judges ' ability to determine whether the asylum seeker is truthful .  this provision codifies the factors immigration judges use to assess credibility and prevents the 9th circuit from further undermining our national security .  in 1996 congress approved building the 14 mile long san diego border fence on the mexico-u.s. border , right next to a major u.s. navy base .  the san diego sector covers an area of more than 7 , 000 square miles and contains 66 linear miles of international border with mexico .  directly to the south of the san diego sector area of responsibility lie the mexican cities of tijuana and tecate , which have a combined population of more than two million .  for decades , this area had been the preferred corridor for entry into the united states by unknown or undocumented persons due to the highly populated cities north and south of the border , as well as relatively quick access to national transportation hubs such as lax .  construction of the fence was halted when radical environmentalists claimed that the area was a habitat of a rare bird .  as a result , eight years later , the fence remains incomplete and is an opportunity for aliens to cross the border illegally .  this incomplete fence allows border security gaps to remain open .  we must close these gaps because they remain a threat to our national security .  the real id act will require the completion of this important security fence .  under current immigration laws , prohibitions on some terrorist-related activities only apply to aliens who are trying to enter the u.s. , but not to those who already reside within our borders .  therefore , if an alien seeking a visa has been found to participate in certain terrorist-related activity , he/she is prohibited from entering the u.s. but if an alien is found to have participated in the same terrorist activity in the u.s. , he/she may not be deportable .  the real id act would finally make the laws consistent by providing that all terrorist-related offenses and making aliens inadmissible which would also be grounds for their deportation .  the real id act provides that any alien contributing funds to a terrorist organization would be deportable .  