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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022.

This legislation would ensure that noncitizen service members 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 promised to protect and fight for.

The Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022 would implement important changes to ensure that servicemembers as well as their spouses and children are not removed from the United States after leaving the military because they were never provided support and resources to help them adjust their status.

Specifically, this bill would require the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to create a program to help ensure that servicemembers and their families have a pathway to naturalization. The program would also include training for JAG officers and recruiter training on the naturalization process for servicemembers.

The bill would also create a Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee that would 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.

Finally, the bill would require DHS to establish a program that allows removed veterans and their family members to be admitted back into the United States as lawful permanent residents and directs DOJ to reopen their removal cases.

Our noncitizen servicemembers have risked their lives in service to 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 promised to defend. Many believe that they are citizens already due to their service and are shocked to learn years later that they are not.

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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