Veteran Deportation Prevention and Reform Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4890 To provide benefits for noncitizen members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 28, 2019 Mr. TAKANO (for himself, Mr. VARGAS, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide benefits for noncitizen members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Deportation 4 Prevention and Reform Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4890 IH (1) military service to the United States is a 1 sacrifice that demonstrates loyalty to the Nation; 2 (2) a noncitizen who takes an oath of enlist- 3 ment or an oath of office to join the United States 4 Armed Forces—promising to support and defend the 5 Constitution of the United States against all en- 6 emies, foreign and domestic—deserves facilitated ac- 7 cess to naturalization; 8 (3) such noncitizen and his or her family mem- 9 bers deserve consideration for the exercise of pros- 10 ecutorial discretion in immigration removal pro- 11 ceedings; and 12 (4) a noncitizen veteran who is deported after 13 consideration under this Act should be provided the 14 same veterans’ benefits to which a similarly situated 15 United States citizen veteran would be entitled. 16 SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 17 FORCES, VETERANS, AND COVERED FAMILY 18 MEMBERS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the time of the 20 Master Calendar Hearing for any individual in removal 21 proceedings, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Cus- 22 toms Enforcement shall identify whether the individual 23 is— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4890 IH (1) a member of the Armed Forces serving on 1 active duty or in a reserve component; 2 (2) a veteran; or 3 (3) a covered family member. 4 (b) TRANSFER OF CASE FILES.—The Director of 5 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall trans- 6 fer a copy of the complete case file of any individual identi- 7 fied under subsection (a), immediately after such identi- 8 fication, to the Advisory Committee. 9 (c) LIMITATION ON REMOVAL.—Notwithstanding any 10 other provision of law, an individual described in sub- 11 section (a) may not be removed until the Military Family 12 Immigration Advisory Committee established under sec- 13 tion 7 has provided recommendations with respect to that 14 individual to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 15 Attorney General under section 7. 16 SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT ON NONCITIZEN VETERANS 17 REMOVED FROM THE UNITED STATES. 18 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 20 Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly carry out a 22 study on noncitizen veterans of the Armed Forces who 23 were removed from the United States during the period 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4890 IH beginning on January 1, 1990, and ending on the date 1 of the enactment of this Act, which shall include— 2 (1) the number of noncitizens removed by U.S. 3 Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Im- 4 migration and Naturalization Service during the pe- 5 riod covered by the report who served on active duty 6 in the Armed Forces or in a reserve component of 7 the Armed Forces for a period of more than 180 8 days; 9 (2) for each noncitizen described in paragraph 10 (1)— 11 (A) the country of origin of the noncitizen; 12 (B) the length of time the noncitizen 13 served as a member of the Armed Forces; 14 (C) the grounds for removal under section 15 237(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 16 (8 U.S.C. 1227) or section 212(a) of the Immi- 17 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182), as 18 applicable; and 19 (D) whether the noncitizen appealed the 20 removal order; 21 (3) the number of noncitizens described in 22 paragraph (1) who— 23 (A) were discharged or released from serv- 24 ice under honorable conditions; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4890 IH (B) were deployed overseas; 1 (C) served on active duty in the Armed 2 Forces in an overseas contingency operation; 3 (D) were awarded military decorations, 4 campaign medals, or service medals; 5 (E) applied for benefits under laws admin- 6 istered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or 7 (F) are receiving benefits described in sub- 8 paragraph (E); and 9 (4) a description of the reasons preventing any 10 of the noncitizens who applied for benefits described 11 in paragraph (3)(E) from receiving such benefits. 12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 13 of the completion of the study required under subsection 14 (a), the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland 15 Security, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall joint- 16 ly submit a report containing the results of such study 17 to the appropriate congressional committees. 18 SEC. 5. INFORMATION REGARDING VETERANS SUBJECT TO 19 REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home- 22 land Security shall create a system to maintain informa- 23 tion, that is shared across the Department of Homeland 24 Security (including Enforcement and Removal Operations, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4890 IH the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and Homeland 1 Security Investigations), on potentially removable noncit- 2 izen veterans (including the names and last known ad- 3 dresses of such individuals) and removal proceedings with 4 respect to any such individual, for the purpose of ensuring 5 that service in the Armed Forces of any such individual 6 is taken into consideration during any adjudication under 7 the immigration laws with respect to such individual, 8 which information shall include— 9 (1) information collected pursuant to the pro- 10 tocol established under section 6(a); and 11 (2) information provided by the Secretary of 12 Defense under subsection (b). 13 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY DEPARTMENT 14 OF DEFENSE.—Not later than 30 days after a noncitizen 15 veteran is honorably discharged from the Armed Forces, 16 the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Secretary 17 of Homeland Security a copy of the Certificate of Release 18 of Discharge from Active Duty form, for inclusion in the 19 system established under subsection (a). 20 SEC. 6. PROTOCOL FOR IDENTIFYING NONCITIZEN VET- 21 ERANS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the last of the first 23 fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4890 IH this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall estab- 1 lish— 2 (1) a protocol (to be known as the ‘‘Immigrant 3 Veterans Eligibility Tracking System’’ or ‘‘I– 4 VETS’’) for identifying noncitizens who are or may 5 be veterans, and for collecting and maintaining data 6 with respect to such who are in removal proceedings, 7 or who have been removed, for use by personnel of 8 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; 9 (2) best practices with respect to addressing 10 issues related to the removal of any such noncitizen; 11 and 12 (3) an annual training program for personnel of 13 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with 14 respect to the protocol and best practices established 15 under paragraphs (1) and (2). 16 (b) TRAINING.—Beginning in the first fiscal year 17 that begins after the Secretary of Homeland Security com- 18 pletes the requirements under subsection (a), personnel of 19 U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement shall partici- 20 pate, on an annual basis, in a training on the protocol 21 and best practices developed under subsection (a). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4890 IH SEC. 7. MILITARY FAMILY IMMIGRATION ADVISORY COM- 1 MITTEE. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 3 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense 4 and in cooperation with the Secretary of the Army, the 5 Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and 6 the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall establish an 7 advisory committee, to be known as the ‘‘Military Family 8 Immigration Advisory Committee’’, to provide rec- 9 ommendations to the Secretary of Homeland Security and 10 the Attorney General on the exercise of prosecutorial dis- 11 cretion in cases involving removal proceedings of individ- 12 uals described in section 3(a). 13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall be 14 composed of— 15 (1) the Deputy Commanding General of Army 16 Human Resources Command, or designee; 17 (2) the Judge Advocate of the Army, or des- 18 ignee; 19 (3) the Deputy Commander of Navy Personnel 20 Command, or designee; 21 (4) the Judge Advocate of the Navy, or des- 22 ignee; 23 (5) the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force; 24 (6) the Judge Advocate of the Air Force, or 25 designee; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4890 IH (7) the Deputy Commandant for Mission Sup- 1 port of the Coast Guard; 2 (8) the Judge Advocate of the Coast Guard, or 3 designee; and 4 (9) the Deputy Commandant of Manpower and 5 Reserve Affairs of the Marine Corps, or designee. 6 (c) CASE REVIEWS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 8 the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs En- 9 forcement notifies the Advisory Committee of the 10 case of an individual described in section 3(a), the 11 Advisory Committee shall meet to review the case 12 and to provide a written recommendation to the Sec- 13 retary of Homeland Security on whether the indi- 14 vidual— 15 (A) notwithstanding the grounds for re- 16 moval asserted by U.S. Immigration and Cus- 17 toms Enforcement, should be granted— 18 (i) a stay of removal and allowed to 19 apply for asylum; 20 (ii) deferred action; or 21 (iii) parole; or 22 (B) should be removed from the United 23 States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4890 IH (2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—An indi- 1 vidual who is the subject of a case review under 2 paragraph (1) may submit information to the Advi- 3 sory Committee, and the Advisory Committee shall 4 consider such information. 5 (3) PROCEDURES.—In conducting each case re- 6 view under paragraph (1), the Advisory Committee 7 shall consider, as factors weighing in favor of a rec- 8 ommendation under paragraph (1)(A)— 9 (A) with respect to a member of the 10 Armed Forces serving on active duty or in a re- 11 serve component, whether the individual— 12 (i) took an oath of enlistment or an 13 oath of office; 14 (ii) received military decorations, cam- 15 paign medals, or service medals, was de- 16 ployed, or was otherwise evaluated for 17 merit in service during his or her service in 18 the Armed Forces; 19 (iii) is a national of a country that 20 prohibits repatriation of an individual after 21 any service in the Armed Forces; or 22 (iv) contributed to his or her local 23 community during his or her service in the 24 Armed Forces; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4890 IH (B) with respect to a veteran, whether the 1 individual— 2 (i) took an oath of enlistment or an 3 oath of office; 4 (ii) completed a term of service in the 5 Armed Forces and was discharged under 6 conditions other than dishonorable; 7 (iii) received military decorations, 8 campaign medals, or service medals, was 9 deployed, or was otherwise evaluated for 10 merit in service during his or her service in 11 the Armed Forces; 12 (iv) is a national of a country that 13 prohibits repatriation of an individual after 14 any service in the Armed Forces; or 15 (v) contributed to his or her local 16 community during or after his or her serv- 17 ice in the Armed Forces; and 18 (C) with respect to a covered family mem- 19 ber, whether the individual— 20 (i) supported a member of the Armed 21 Forces serving on active duty or a veteran, 22 including through financial support, emo- 23 tional support, or caregiving; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Nov 01, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4890.IH H4890 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4890 IH (ii) contributed to his or her local 1 community during or after the military 2 service of the member or of the veteran. 3 (d) CONSULTATION WITH U.S. IMMIGRATION AND 4 CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT PRINCIPAL LEGAL ADVISOR.— 5 The Principal Legal Advisor of U.S. Immigration and 6 Customs Enforcement, or designee, shall consult with the 7 Advisory Committee at the request of members of the Ad- 8 visory Committee. 9 (e) BRIEFINGS ON UNSUITABILITY OF NONCITIZEN 10 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.—The Under Sec- 11 retary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall pro- 12 vide detailed briefings to the Advisory Committee regard- 13 ing the reasons for determining the unsuitability of noncit- 14 izen members of the Armed Forces whose cases are being 15 considered by the Advisory Committee. 16 (f) BRIEFINGS ON ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO REC- 17 OMMENDATIONS.—Not less frequently than quarterly, the 18 Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide detailed 19 briefings to the Advisory Committee regarding actions 20 taken in response to the recommendations of the Advisory 21 Committee, including detailed explan [Text truncated for display. 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