Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Veteran Deportation Prevention and Reform Act.

This legislation would ensure that noncitizen servicemembers have access to the information and resources they need to apply for citizenship in the United States and avoid deportation from the country they have served.

The Veteran Deportation Prevention and Reform Act includes important changes to ensure that servicemembers are not removed from the United States after leaving the military because they were never provided the resources necessary to ensure they could adjust their status. The bill would also protect servicemembers' spouses and children from deportation.

Specifically, this bill would require the Department of Homeland Security, DHS and the Department of Defense to create a program to help ensure that servicemembers and their families have a pathway to naturalization. The program must also include training for JAG officers and recruiter training on the naturalization process for servicemembers. These personnel must also work with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency to ensure that all noncitizen military servicemembers are naturalized before they leave the service.

The bill would also create the Military Family Immigation Advisory Committe that must provide recommendations to DHS on whether a noncitizen who has served in the military or their family members should be granted a stay of removal, deferred action, parole, or be removed from the country.

ICE, CBP, and USCIS are directed to transfer case materials of individuals in removal proceedings for individuals who are determined to be a member of the Armed Forces, a veteran, or a covered family member of the advisory committee. These individuals cannot be removed until a recommendation is issued by the advisory committee.

Finally, the bill would require DHS to establish a program and application to allow removed veterans and their family members to be admitted back into the United States as lawful permanent residents and would direct the Department of Justice to reopen their removal cases.

Our noncitizen servicemembers have risked their lives serving our country.

For over a century, the United States has recognized the contributions that noncitizens make in the military. They deserve a clear path to citizenship for themselves and their spouses and children.

Over the past several years, programs to help facilitate these processes have diminished, and this lack of support from Federal Agencies has made it more difficult for noncitizen servicemembers to become U.S. citizens. Veterans who are unable to naturalize are at risk of deportation if they commit certain crimes and are forced to leave the country they served. Many of these individuals believe that they are citizens already due to their service and are shocked they are not, years later.

It is imperative that we work to protect our noncitizen veterans from deportation and that we bring back those veterans who were removed from the United States. These veterans have shown nothing but loyalty to the United States, and they deserve to stay here, receive their benefits, and live fulfilling lives alongside their family members.

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