Thread: Illegal Aliens Obtained HazMat Licenses

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005 ... 4304.shtml

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 9:42 a.m. EDT

Illegal Aliens Obtained HazMat Licenses

Liberals who objected to the passage of the Real ID Act of 2005 two months ago will be happy to know that federal immigration officials have uncovered twelve illegal aliens who managed to obtain licenses to transport hazardous materials thanks to lax standards under the old system.

In one case, a man from the terrorist hotbed of Pakistan - who had been ordered to leave the U.S. nine years ago - was found to be driving a tanker truck filled with gasoline for Exxon, the Knight Ridder news service said.

"This is a national security issue," said Elissa Brown, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office in Chicago, where six men were taken into custody. "Illegal aliens should not have the freedom to transport hazardous materials throughout the United States," she told Knight Ridder.

The hazmat-licensed illegals were discovered as part of a federal crackdown on fraud at state motor vehicle departments across the country. They hailed from terror-torn countries like Jordan and the Philippines, as well as tamer locations like Belize, Mongolia and Mexico.

The Department of Homeland Security has begun deportation proceedings against the six of the twelve illegals.

In April of last year, Jordanian police foiled a plot by Al Qaida kingpin Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who had planned to attack the U.S. embassy in Amman using three tanker trucks loaded with chemical weapons.

Jordanian officals estimated that the chemicals confiscated from Zarqawi's operatives would have killed up to 80,000 people had they succeeded.

I'm not a liberal, but I do know what the real ID will be used for and that is why I don’t like it. It is to be used as a tri-national identification with Mexico and Canada. They just don’t need my information. Those illegals would not have gotten those Hazmat licenses if the proper background checks had been done.