House OKs bill that would allow return of deported veterans, offer pathway to citizenship
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A bill passed by the House of Representatives would offer active military members and veterans that are non-citizens a pathway toward citizenship, as well as a second chance to veterans who have been deported.
The Veteran Service Recognition Act was approved by the House by a 220-208 vote, with only three Republican congress members joining Democrats in favor of the bill. It is expected to be voted on the Senate floor before Jan. 2, 2023.
"Deporting veterans who put their lives on the line in service to the United States — including vets who are suffering as a result of their service — is a failure of basic decency and a failure to honor our men and women in uniform," Rep. Ruben Gallego said to The Arizona Republic. "These servicemembers should be respected, not deported or denied benefits from the VA. We must keep working to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, but until then, I’ll continue standing up for every veteran, regardless of immigration status."
The bill sponsored by Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., and co-sponsored by 28 other Democratic representatives, including Gallego, would direct the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to establish a program that would allow non-citizen service members to apply to become naturalized citizens as early as basic training.
It would also direct the DHS to create a Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee, which would review cases of non-citizen veterans and active duty service members undergoing immigration removal proceedings and make recommendations as to whether prosecutorial discretion is warranted or removal proceedings must continue.
Additionally, it would offer non-citizen veterans who have been deported or are pending deportation under a court order, and who have not been convicted of felonies, the opportunity to apply for and obtain lawful permanent residence in the United States.
Gallego: Bill would help bring deported veterans back
In 2016, Gallego first introduced legislation that would allow deported veterans who had not committed serious crimes a path to return to the United States. That bill never left the House floor. Now, with this bill moving on to the Senate, Gallego, a military veteran, and other congress members are looking forward to the change this might bring.
There is no official data that shows the number of non-citizen veterans who have been deported, but FWD.us, a bipartisan political organization that advocates for the rights of immigrants in the United States, estimates that some 700,000 foreign-born veterans live in the United States today, many of whom are now U.S. citizens. They estimate that there are currently some 45,000 active immigrants.
According to the organization, the most recent government estimates report that some 5,000 legal permanent residents enlist each year, and in the last 20 years, more than 148,000 immigrants have served in the military and obtained citizenship.
Gallego said that veteran deportations are often due to a conviction for a crime stemming from trauma that occurred while serving in the military.
“This bill benefits the veterans that have been deported and especially for veterans that have don't have any serious criminal records allows them a process creates a process for them to come back into the United States,” Gallego said. “Once they are back here, then we put them on a process for them to become legal, permanent residents and eventually citizens."
In July of 2021, the Biden administration announced an initiative that would help many deported veterans re-enter the United States and provide support to their loved ones.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough pledged their support to family members of deported U.S. military personnel.
According to Gallego, since Biden took office, some veterans have returned "because of some of the work that we've done. But there's a lot of veterans that were deported over the last 20 years, not just to Mexico, but to other parts of the world. And we want to try to get them back."
Arizonan Alejandro Murillo, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1996 to 2000, was one of those veterans given a second chance after being deported to Mexico in 2011 due to a drug possession conviction.
His case was recently reviewed by the Biden administration, and after 11 years of living in Tijuana, Mexico, he was readmitted to the United States in April of 2022.
“My American story is still ongoing, it has not ended,” Murillo said to The Republic. “My fight will end when I get my permanent residency and then my citizenship, and apparently that will come very soon.”
Murillo said he would have preferred a bill like this to have been passed 12 years ago to prevent him from being deported. However, he acknowledged that today was a key moment for this initiative to happen since in Mexico many veterans have waited up to 20 years for their chance to return home.
“Since Joe Biden was campaigning, he promised to review the cases of deported veterans one by one in order to return them to the United States and I think he is complying,” said Murillo. “This bill does not signify a victory yet, but we will continue pushing for it to be approved in the Senate, we are very hopeful that it will pass."
Today, Murillo lives in the area of 43rd and Glendale avenues in Glendale, Arizona, where he was reunited with his mother and four children, where he currently waits on immigration proceedings to obtain permanent residency.
Democrats across the floor applaud bill's progress
After the bill won the vote in the House, many in Congress who see in this initiative the recognition of immigrants acting in defense of the U.S. by serving in the military voiced their approval in a joint statement.
"If you fight and risk your life for our country, you should stay in our country," said Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Dr. Raul Ruiz, "Today’s historic passage of the Veteran Service Recognition Act moves us closer to ensuring that noncitizen veterans are not treated as second-class veterans. I now urge the Senate to act and honor their service.”
Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan, D-Ariz., said that "If our Armed Forces can recruit and train immigrants, they should be able to live in the country they fought for, free from worries about deportation. It is about time that their sacrifice for our country be recognized."
Representative Darren Soto, D-Fla., said that he co-sponsored this bill in honor of Alejandra Juárez, a resident of Polk County, Florida, who was deported to Mexico under the Trump Administration, despite being part of a military family and having children born in the United States.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said that the United States owes its debt to immigrants, especially those who have risked their lives in the Armed Forces.
"The Veteran Service Recognition Act is a first step to creating a more just and fair system for those willing to make the sacrifices required of our servicemembers. Along with our nation's gratitude, every person who puts on the uniform, serves our country and protects its values should be eligible for naturalization or to apply for legal permanent resident status," she said.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, said that deporting veterans is a stain on the history of the United States. "With the passage of this bill, we are one step closer to rectifying this issue and keeping our promise to care for the brave men and women who’ve put their lives on the line to defend our country.”
Reach La Voz reporter and editor Javier Arce at javier.arce@lavozarizona.com or on Twitter @javierarce33.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: House approves bill that would allow deported veterans to return to US
