Ted Poe: “just last October, FBI agents, in cooperation with Baytown, Texas, and LaPorte, Texas, police, both law enforcement…”

“just last October, FBI agents, in cooperation with Baytown, Texas, and LaPorte, Texas, police, both law enforcement departments in my district, shattered a major document forgery operation being run out of a trailer house just across the street from the massive Exxon Mobile Refinery in Baytown, Texas. The result: six men were arrested and charged with numerous Federal counts of conspiracy and producing false documents, including Texas driver's licenses, resident alien cards, and industrial safety training cards used for employment in the strategic petrochemical industry. The REAL ID Act that our Chamber passed today was a sensible first step toward desperately needed immigration reform in the United States. Still, however, in order to truly construct a watertight system, we cannot, when legislating here in Congress, just hitch our wagon to the newest pony when we have a solid team of stallions sitting around with nothing to do. Before discussion of any new proposals or their benefits, we must first ensure the laws currently on the books are being enforced. We must expect people from other nations to respect our borders. Not only is it essential that we enforce existing laws; we must also reduce the incentives we offer foreigners to come to our country illegally.”