[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S5553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Booker, Mr. Sanders, 
        Ms. Warren, Mr. Markey, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Brown, and Mrs. 
        Feinstein):
  S. 5055. A bill to provide benefits for noncitizen members of the 
Armed Forces, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  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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