A group of Congressmen lead by Representative Ruben Gallego have introduced legislation that would help deported veterans of the United States Armed Forces return to the U.S. and reunited with their families. The proposed legislation would prevent the removal of service members and veterans in the future as well.
“As a vet myself, I feel like all veterans are part of my constituency. I believe we’ll get bipartisan support on this,” Gallego said, who represents Arizona’s 7th District.
Gallego was inspired to tackle this issues when he attended a Skype conference organized by a group of Arizona State University students which included some deported veterans that are living in Tijuana, Mexico. Their stories made Gallego become committed to changing this policy. Those veterans where members of the Deported Veterans Support House which is a group that was founded in 2013 by Hector Barajas. This group is devoted to aiding veterans that have been removed from the U.S., a lot of whom suffer from psychiatric issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Gallegos’ bill, called the Restoring Respect for Immigrant Service in Uniform Act, urges the Department of Homeland Security to re-admit to the U.S. veterans who’ve been deported and who have not committed a serious crime. The bill also limits the grounds for deporting members of the armed forces, preventing the removal of anyone who has served at least 6 months in the military and who has not committed a serious crime. This legislation is being cosponsoring the bill were Reps. Ted Liu (D-California), Charles Rangel (D-New York), and José E. Serrano (D-New York).
Serrano added, “That our country deports those who have defended our flag and lived up to our nation’s most important ideals tells you all you need to know about how broken our immigration system currently is.”
The bill also includes language that would encourage the president to use executive power to allow currently deported veterans to apply for citizenship. Gallego believes the country owes it to the men and women he calls “green card soldiers.”
“There’s urgency to this issue,” he told FNL. “Even one deported vet is too many. These men and women need veterans’ services, and we need to honor our commitment to them. The fact is, this isn’t an immigration issue, and it’s a veteran’s issue.”
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