Restrictions on licenses, asylum rules approved

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The House yesterday passed a bill to clamp down on illegal aliens' access to driver's licenses and judges' ability to deny asylum, after adding a provision to make sure that more of the illegal aliens ordered to be deported actually are sent home.

It marks the first foray into immigration issues for the new Congress, and the crackdown drew bipartisan support, passing 261-161, with 42 Democrats joining 219 Republicans in favor of it. Eight Republicans voted with 152 Democrats and the chamber's lone independent against it.

The bill, called the Real ID Act, would prevent the federal government from accepting state-issued identifications if the state makes them available to illegal aliens. About a dozen states allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, and although the bill does not force them to change, it creates a strong incentive to do so.

The bill also limits some asylum claims and gives judges more leeway to deny others. It also removes the environmental block that is preventing completion of a 14-mile section of U.S.-Mexico border fence near San Diego.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, failed to persuade senators to accept the provisions in the September 11 commission intelligence-overhaul bill that passed in December.

But he won a promise from House Republican leaders to bring the bill for another vote this year.

As President Bush calls for passage of a broad immigration package that includes legal status for illegal aliens now in the country, Republican leaders tried to separate yesterday's debate, arguing that it was about border and homeland security.

"This bill finishes the work of the 9/11 commission by implementing their recommendations on how to crack down on terrorists' ability to game our system and secure admission to this country for nefarious purposes," said Rep. David Dreier, California Republican and chairman of the House Rules Committee.