an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service of the any and all law Homeland Security "waiver authority" provided in the bill "would also seem to apply to all the barriers that may be constructed". As Waxman noted - that means child labor laws, etc. are waived.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12343-2005Feb9.htmlwashingtonpost.com
Border-Control Bill Nears Vote
Backers Expect House Passage, but Foes Are Undeterred
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 10, 2005; Page A05
House Republicans yesterday appeared headed toward passing a bill giving the government vast new power to build roads and barriers along the U.S. border with Mexico, exempt from judicial review as well as environmental, conservation and labor laws.
Republicans say they are just trying to keep illegal immigrants from crossing Smuggler's Gulch, but environmental and conservation groups warn that the price would be allowing the federal government to mar wildlife refuges and pristine canoeing waters.
The new power for the Department of Homeland Security is part of a package that Republicans are calling "border security protections" designed to deter terrorist attacks.
The bill, called the "Real I.D. Act," would impose on states tougher standards for the issuing of driver's licenses for identification at airports and federal buildings. The law would also make it easier for judges to deport suspected terrorists and harder for potential terrorists to gain political asylum.
The bill, introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), was debated yesterday. House leaders said they expect passage by a wide margin today. It contains measures that Sensenbrenner and other conservatives wanted in the intelligence restructuring bill passed in December, but that were dropped because of objections from the Senate.<snip>
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig10feb10,1,7191955.story?coll=la-headlines-nation House Likely to OK Migrant Restrictions
White House support adds impetus to a bill to bar driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, limit asylum claims and close a border fence gap.
By Mary Curtius
Times Staff Writer
February 10, 2005
WASHINGTON — A bill aimed at blocking states from issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants appeared headed for passage today in the House of Representatives, aided by a strong endorsement from the White House and broad support within the Republican majority.<snip>
The bill's fate in the Senate is unclear. If presented as a stand-alone bill, its passage is not assured; but its provisions are likely to be attached to must-pass legislation in that chamber.
If enacted into law, the bill would kill efforts in California to allow illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses.<snip>
The bill makes compliance voluntary — but if a state does not comply, the licenses it issues could not be used as valid identification to board airplanes in the United States, open bank accounts or enter federal buildings.
The bill also would require states to limit the term of a driver's license issued to a foreign visitor to no longer than the length of the person's U.S. visa. States would have three years to comply with the regulations.<snip>
Other provisions of the bill would tighten the standards for granting asylum to foreigners, raising the standard of evidence that applicants for asylum must produce to prove their claims of persecution in the nations they are fleeing, and limiting judicial review of claims rejected by immigration officials.
In addition, the bill would allow the federal government to override state and local environmental concerns and laws to plug a three-mile hole in the fence between San Diego and Tijuana — and to build such walls anywhere along the U.S.-Mexico border.<snip>
The revised asylum provision would require applicants to show that their religion, nationality, race, social group or political opinion was a central reason behind their persecution.<snip>
In a speech on the House floor, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) said provisions dealing with the federal government's ability to override local laws to complete sections of border fence would waive environmental and child labor laws, among others.
"I just find this a breathtaking grab for power by the federal government," Waxman said in an interview after he left the floor.