U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., paired up once again with U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., to propose the “Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act" to expedite the citizenship process for non-citizen members of the military and their families.
The bill looks to ensure the “nuclear family members, spouses and children, of non-citizen military personnel” are exempted from caps “that limit the number of petitions granted each year.” The proposal “would also allow immediate family members of a U.S. citizen soldier who is serving, or who has served honorably, to apply for lawful permanent residence.”
Thompson and Ros-Lehtinen showcased the bill on Wednesday.
“The more than 20,000 brave, non-citizen men and women serving in our Armed Forces shouldn’t have to worry about their immigration status, or that of their family members,” Thompson said. “Fixing our country’s broken immigration system is a priority. And by making sure our system does not unduly burden non-citizen service members, veterans and their families, this legislation is an important first step.”
"Those who honorably serve our nation should not have to worry about their immigration status or that of their families after having sacrificed so much for our country,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “Our servicemembers should be allowed the opportunity to fully participate in our great democracy, which they work to defend. Allowing them to expedite their citizenship and their families to apply for lawful residency is the least we can do to repay their courage."
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Armed Services and Judiciary Committees on Wednesday. Two other Democrats--U.S. Rep. Sam Farr of California and U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela of Texas--are joining Ros-Lehtinen as the primary co-sponsors of the bill.
Thompson and Ros-Lehtinen have pushed this bill before. They first proposed the bill in 2011 but it has gained little steam in Congress in recent years. There is no Senate counterpart for the bill.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
