CNSNews.com) – Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), a member of the “Gang of
Eight” that helped write and pass the immigration reform bill in that chamber,
said he did not know how many passports a person could forge under the proposed
law before being charged with a crime.
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday,
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."
McCain answered, “ I cannot
tell you that it is part of the bill."
In the legislation that passed in
the Senate, Section 1541
"Trafficking in Passports," it explains in detail that a
person can be charged for a crime if they forge "3 or more
passports," meaning that they potentially would not be charged if they
falsely made only one or two passports. The criminal charges and penalties do
not kick in until after "3 or more passports" are falsely made,
issued, or transferred, etcetera.
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.”
The immigration reform bill passed
in the Senate on June 27 with a 68-32 vote. All 52 Democrats, 2 independents,
and 14 Republican senators voted in favor of the legislation, including Sens.
McCain, Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Jeff Chisea (N.J.), Susan
Collins (Me.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.),
Orrin Hatch (Utah), Dean Heller (Nev.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Mark Kirk (Ill.),
Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Marco Rubio (Fla.).
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