Federal

Repatriate Our Patriots Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,226 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill protects certain foreign-born military veterans from being removed from the United States and makes it easier for them to become citizens. The bill also creates a process for veterans who were already removed to return to the country and become permanent residents.

Who It Affects

Foreign-born individuals who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and received an honorable discharge. The Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, who must process applications and cancel removal orders.

Key Provisions

• Foreign-born veterans cannot be removed from the United States under any immigration law (Sec. 3) • Foreign-born veterans become U.S. citizens by filing an application, paying fees and taking an oath of allegiance before a Department of Homeland Security officer, and the government must process the application within 90 days (Sec. 4(a)) • Veterans living abroad can file naturalization applications from U.S. embassies and consulates overseas (Sec. 4(b)) • The Secretary of Homeland Security must cancel removal proceedings for veterans currently facing removal and must reverse removal orders for veterans already deported (Sec. 5) • The government must create a program within 180 days to allow previously deported veterans to return as permanent residents (Sec. 6) • The Department of Homeland Security must identify all foreign-born veterans in immigration cases and keep detailed records about their military service and immigration status (Sec. 7)

What Changes

Foreign-born veterans with honorable discharges gain protection from deportation and get a streamlined path to citizenship. Veterans already removed from the country can return and become permanent residents. The government must establish new tracking systems to identify and help foreign-born veterans in the immigration system.

Important Definitions

The bill defines "special veteran" as a foreign-born individual who served in the Armed Forces with an honorable discharge. This definition excludes anyone convicted of voluntary manslaughter, murder, rape, sexual abuse of a minor or terrorism-related offenses, and anyone determined to be a child abuser or pedophile.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 717 To prohibit the removal from the United States of certain veterans, to expedite their naturalization, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2023 Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. CORREA, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit the removal from the United States of certain veterans, to expedite their naturalization, 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 ‘‘Repatriate Our Patri- 4 ots Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H717.IH H717 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 717 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 1 In this Act, the term ‘‘special veteran’’ means an in- 2 dividual who is an alien and is described in section 101(2) 3 of title 38, United States Code, except the term— 4 (1) only includes individuals who were dis- 5 charged or released from the Armed Forces under 6 honorable conditions; 7 (2) does not include individuals who have been 8 convicted of voluntary manslaughter, murder, rape, 9 sexual abuse of a minor, or any offense under chap- 10 ter 113B of title 18, United States Code (relating to 11 terrorism); and 12 (3) does not include individuals who have been 13 determined to be a child abuser or a pedophile. 14 SEC. 3. PROTECTING SPECIAL VETERANS FROM REMOVAL. 15 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including 16 section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 17 U.S.C. 1227), a special veteran shall not be removed from 18 the United States. 19 SEC. 4. NATURALIZATION FOR SPECIAL VETERANS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 21 sion of law, a special veteran shall be naturalized as a cit- 22 izen of the United States upon the filing of the appro- 23 priate application, paying the appropriate fees, and, except 24 as provided in subsection (b), taking and subscribing be- 25 fore an officer of the Department of Homeland Security 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H717.IH H717 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 717 IH within the United States to the oath of allegiance required 1 by section 337 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 2 (8 U.S.C. 1448). The Secretary of Homeland Security 3 shall take steps to ensure that the period in which an ap- 4 plication for naturalization under this section is pending 5 does not exceed 90 days. The Secretary shall furnish each 6 special veteran naturalized under this section with a cer- 7 tificate of citizenship. 8 (b) SPECIAL VETERANS ABROAD.—In the case of a 9 special veteran residing abroad, the application for natu- 10 ralization may be filed from abroad, and the oath of alle- 11 giance described in subsection (a) may be subscribed to 12 abroad at United States embassies and consulates. 13 (c) WAIVER.—Consistent with section 337(a) of the 14 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1448(a)), the 15 Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the taking of 16 the oath of allegiance described in subsection (a) by a spe- 17 cial veteran if, in the opinion of the Secretary, the special 18 veteran is unable to understand, or to communicate an 19 understanding of, its meaning because of a physical or de- 20 velopmental disability or mental impairment. 21 SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF SPECIAL VETERANS IN REMOVAL 22 PROCEEDINGS OR ORDERED REMOVED. 23 In the case of a special veteran in removal pro- 24 ceedings on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H717.IH H717 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 717 IH retary of Homeland Security shall cancel the removal of 1 the special veteran. In the case of a special veteran who 2 was ordered removed before the date of the enactment of 3 this Act, the Attorney General shall rescind any out- 4 standing order of removal, and any finding that the special 5 veteran is subject to removal or is inadmissible. In the case 6 of a special veteran physically present in the United States 7 whose status as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 8 residence was rescinded before the date of the enactment 9 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall allow 10 the veteran to adjust status to that of an alien lawfully 11 admitted for permanent residence without regard to any 12 numerical limitation in the Immigration and Nationality 13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 14 SEC. 6. RETURN OF SPECIAL VETERANS REMOVED FROM 15 THE UNITED STATES. 16 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 17 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program 18 and application procedure to permit special veterans re- 19 moved from the United States before the date of the en- 20 actment of this Act to enter the United States as an alien 21 lawfully admitted for permanent residence without regard 22 to any numerical limitation in the Immigration and Na- 23 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H717.IH H717 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 717 IH SEC. 7. IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIAL VETERANS. 1 (a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 2 Security shall identify immigration cases involving special 3 veterans by— 4 (1) inquiring of every alien processed prior to 5 initiating removal proceedings whether the alien is a 6 special veteran; and 7 (2) keeping records of special veterans who 8 have been detained under the immigration laws, had 9 removal proceedings against them initiated before 10 the date of the enactment of this Act, or been re- 11 moved before such date. 12 (b) RECORD ANNOTATION.—When the Secretary has 13 identified a case under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 14 annotate all immigration and naturalization records of the 15 Department of Homeland Security relating to the special 16 veteran involved so as to reflect that identification and af- 17 ford an opportunity to track the outcomes for the veteran. 18 Such annotation shall include— 19 (1) the veteran’s branch of military service; 20 (2) whether or not the veteran served during a 21 period of military hostilities described in section 329 22 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 23 1440); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H717.IH H717 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 717 IH (3) the veteran’s immigration status at the time 1 of enlistment. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H717.IH H717 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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