Passport Fraud: Forge Up To Three Before It’s A Crime – Someone Willfully Put It In The New Immigration Bill – Who?

by Maggie • July 22, 2013 • 

http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/2013/07/passport-fraud-forge-up-to-three-before-its-a-crime-someone-willfully-put-it-in-the-new-immigration-bill-who/

 

Current law stipulates that a forged passport is a federal crime. My passport has a few stamps on it, and I’m always a little uneasy when I walk up to the booth and the eyes on the face on the other side are peering deep into mine. Once I forgot to take my sunglasses off, and the rebuff was cold. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) was asked how many times a passport can be forged under the Senate’s newly approved immigration law without the forger being charged with a crime. He didn’t know. The answer is three times – 3 forgeries for illegals before there are consequences…and McCain, a member of the Gang of Eight who wrote the bill was clueless, as was Senator Marco Rubio.  Don’t you want to know who added that provision, was there discussion about it, who was in on the discussion, what was the discussion? I do.  Others in the “Gang,” Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Schumer (D-AZ), Richard Durbin (D-ILL), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO).

On Capitol Hill on Wednesday [July 17, 2013], CNSNews.com asked McCain, “Senator McCain, can I ask you a question about the Senate immigration bill? Under the bill, how many passports can someone forge before it becomes a crime?”
McCain said,  “You’re going to have to ask our folks that, I don’t think that we stand for any forgeries.”
CNSNews.com followed-up, “Can you tell me why that would be part of the bill in the first place?”
McCain answered, “ I cannot tell you that it is part of the bill.”
[Page 777] As the legislation states, “any person who, during any period of 3 years or less, knowingly – (1) and without lawful authority produces, issues, or transfers 3 or more passports; (2) forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes 3 or more passports; (3) secures, possesses, uses, receives, buys, sells, or distributes 3 or more passports, knowing the passports to be forged, counterfeited, altered, falsely made, stolen, procured by fraud, or produced or issued without lawful authority; or (4) completes, mails, prepares, presents, signs, or submits 3 or more applications for a United States passport, knowing the applications to contain any materially false statement or representation, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20  years, or both.” Source CNS News

It’s hard…you know, it’s just hard to write these bills.
When the question was put to Rubio two days later, he said forgery is a federal crime, so CNS had to school him:

However, Section 3707 of the immigration bill (S. 744)  is titled, “Reform of Passport, Visa and Immigration Fraud Offenses.” It makes no mention of any “waivers,” but it does specifically amend Section 1541 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which currently requires criminal penalties for issuing “any” unauthorized passports. As amended by S. 744–the Senate immigration bill Rubio co-sponsored–a person would not be dealt criminal penalties until they forged “3 or more passports.” Source: CNS News

This obviously allows an illegal with a forged passport two more tries if caught – no deportation, no consequences, and we know from past history, after three crimes, there’s likely no deportation – no consequences.