Jim Sensenbrenner: “Mr. Chairman, I want to quote from the 9/11 Commission staff report entitled 9/11 and Terrorist Travel. The staff found…”

“Mr. Chairman, I want to quote from the 9/11 Commission staff report entitled 9/11 and Terrorist Travel. The staff found that a number of terrorists have abused the asylum system and that once terrorists have entered the United States, their next challenge was to find a way to remain here. The primary method was immigration fraud, concocting bogus political asylum stories when they arrive. This amendment strikes a good-faith effort to try to prevent these people from gaming the system. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which deals with the border States of Arizona and California, has made it difficult for immigration judges to deny fraudulent asylum application by terrorists and simply by scam artists. In their recent decisions, the 9th Circuit has failed to give deference to the adverse credibility determination of immigration judges in asylum cases, and as a result, many fraudulent applications have been approved. The role of an appeals court is not to make a judgment on the credibility of the witnesses. That is done by the trial court. And here the immigration judges have determined that some of these applicants have no credibility, and yet the 9th Circuit says their determination really does not mean anything. Even worse, the 9th Circuit has created a disturbing precedent that has made it easier for suspected terrorists to receive asylum.”