Cornyn Backs Bill to Further Expedite Citizenship Process for Servicemen & Women

Press Release

Cornyn Backs Bill to Further Expedite Citizenship Process for Servicemen & Women

New bill builds on legislation Sen. Cornyn enacted into law in 2003 to greatly reduce waiting times for those serving on front lines of war on terror

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Ranking Member of the Immigration and Border Security subcommittee, today announced his support for new legislation that would further expedite the citizenship process for immigrant men and women serving in the U.S. Military. This bill builds on legislation Sen. Cornyn successfully enacted into law to expedite the naturalization process for service members who are not citizens. Sen. Cornyn authored the Military Citizenship Act, S. 897, which was incorporated into the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004.

Currently, many immigrant members of the United States' all-volunteer military are waiting months, even years, for their citizenship applications to be approved. The Kendell Frederick Assistance to Citizenship Act, S. 2516, calls for enhanced cooperation between the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense on applications, fingerprints, and background checks.

"The first priority of the federal government is a strong national defense supported by a well-equipped, well-trained military, particularly as terrorism remains a real and serious threat. As it stands, thousands of men and women from other countries are willing to serve in defense of America and our freedoms, but a crippled process is hindering their service.

"While these brave men and women are serving as U.S. troops on the front lines of the war on terror, their applications for U.S. citizenship are stuck collecting dust in a bureaucracy backlog. This discrepancy is unacceptable," Sen. Cornyn said.

"No one can dispute that major reforms of the entire immigration system are in immediate order. But in the short term, we can take this important step now to ensure citizenship applications from immigrant members of our military are prioritized. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join me in supporting this legislation to send a clear message to these brave troops that we welcome their service and will be proud to call them fellow Americans."

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