New York Post - TERRORISM IS BIGGEST RISK: KING

Wednesday July 05, 2006

From New York Post:

TERRORISM IS
BIGGEST RISK: KING

By DEBORAH ORIN

July 5, 2006 -- WASHINGTON - The fact that The Post could obtain a convincing fake ID in a matter of hours illustrates the terrorism threat to America, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King said.

"The real risk is for terror," King (R-L.I.) told The Post.

"Obviously, you don't want illegal aliens getting jobs - but the real risk is [that] getting a phony 'green card' enables the terrorist to move around, to get a job and become part of the community."

He added, "If [terrorists] can't get a job, they're much less effective and much less of a threat . . . If they want to become part of a sleeper cell, be absorbed into a community, for the most part, they need a job."

He praised The Post for shining a bright light on the easy availability of fake documents for illegals.

"This is a public service," King said. "You've driven home the necessity of at least passing legislation to get tamper-proof ID cards" for immigrants.

King said under the get-tough House immigration bill, employers would be able to call to check whether the holder of an ID card matched the description for the person with that ID's number.

The tamper-proof ID - which would be a new and different form of ID than a Social Security card or a green card - could fix 90 percent of the fake-ID problem, King said.

deborah.orin@nypost.com