Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Lofgren for her leadership and Chairman Nadler for his staunch support to move my bill, the Veteran Service Recognition Act, through committee and to bring it to the floor.

As chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, one of my top priorities has been the prevention of undue noncitizen veteran deportations.

Most Americans would be shocked and in disbelief that we have deported people who have served in our military, have served in uniform, have even been in combat. They would be shocked to learn that we have done this, but it is true. We have actually taken American heroes who have served in our military and deported them.

While many would be shocked to learn that veterans who have served our country are being subjected to deportations, the number of these individuals is unknown because we have not kept adequate records on who these people are.

In 2019, Representative Vargas and I requested that the Government Accountability Office evaluate the scope of servicemember and veteran deportations and determine the state of and adherence to DHS policies on such deportations, DHS' own policies.

What the GAO found was significant gaps not only in the Federal approach to processing potentially removable veterans but also in how the government facilitated the naturalization of noncitizen servicemembers and veterans.

I was further dismayed by the additional findings that the number of these veterans was not being tracked; deportation often prevented these individuals from accessing their VA benefits and services or attending hearings to appeal VA decisions; and ICE did not consistently adhere to its own policies on removal proceedings involving veterans.

The GAO report made it abundantly clear that reforms are desperately needed across the Federal Government, and that is precisely what my bill endeavors to do today.

Despite being born in a different country, these veterans served in the United States for the promise of a better future. They put their lives on the line to promote our ideals and values because they believe in the American experience.

Often, these individuals, like many veterans, leave service with traumas or ailments that impact their physical and mental health. This can lead to drug addiction, self-harm, or PTSD, which also can serve as a precursor to violence or criminal activity.

We must recognize these struggles that our veterans face and show greater compassion toward those who may have made a mistake, including those noncitizen veterans who are facing deportation due to their actions.

I say to you, Mr. Speaker, if there is anyone who deserves a second chance in our country, it is people who have worn the uniform of the United States of America.

The Veteran Service Recognition Act creates a pathway for us to recognize their service and prevent the undue deportation of servicemembers and veterans. The bill achieves this by making the naturalization process easier for Active-Duty servicemembers at basic training and establishing a military family immigration advisory committee to review the record of an individual being considered for deportation. This is not an automatic thing. This is about weighing the servicemember's record as part of those proceedings.

What American would deny that we should treat noncitizen veterans with fairness and compassion? We want veterans to be able to apply for green cards to return home, excluding the most egregious cases, and codify an administrative program for immediate family members of veterans to also obtain green cards consistent with existing administrative policy.

The number of eligible individuals under this legislation remains a very small subset of the veteran population. In fact, estimates are in the couple of hundreds.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, for my friends across the aisle, this is an opportunity to honor our brave veterans for their heroism, regardless of the country they were born in.

We commemorated Veterans Day last month, and I can think of no better way to honor our veterans than voting ``yes'' on the underlying legislation. We can and must do better by our immigrant veterans.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source