[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                        DEPORTATION OF VETERANS

  (Mr. TAKANO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, most Americans would be outraged to learn 
that hundreds, if not thousands, of veterans have been deported after 
serving honorably in the United States military, but this is the 
shocking truth about our broken immigration system.
  These unjust deportations of veterans are still occurring. Let me 
cite the case of Chong Hwan Kim, a South Korean immigrant who has lived 
in this country since he was 5 years old. In 2009, he was deployed to 
Iraq and was honorably discharged a year later. Legal permanent 
residents qualify for citizenship if they serve just one day on Active 
Duty during a time of war.
  Suffering from PTSD and facing the same challenges that many veterans 
face reintegrating into society, Kim broke the law, and because he 
never completed the process of becoming a citizen, he currently awaits 
deportation.
  Veterans like Chong Hwan Kim deserve better. They deserve the dignity 
and respect that we afford to all who serve, and they deserve to enjoy 
the rights they risked their lives to protect.

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