Bill Text: IL HR1202 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Recognizes the plight of non-citizen veterans and urges the United States Congress and the President of the United States to provide these veterans and their families the honors and benefits that they have earned.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-06-29 - Resolution Adopted [HR1202 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HR1202-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, There are a significant number of non-citizen | ||||||
3 | veterans of foreign wars, including World War
II, the Korean | ||||||
4 | War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the | ||||||
5 | Afghanistan War, who have been removed from the United States; | ||||||
6 | and
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7 | WHEREAS, These veterans currently live in terrible and | ||||||
8 | abject conditions after having served in the
Armed Services of | ||||||
9 | the United States; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Several of these veterans have asked for support | ||||||
11 | in obtaining reentry into the United States
to be with their | ||||||
12 | families and their children who are U.S. citizens; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Non-citizens compose a significant portion of the | ||||||
14 | Armed Forces, enlisting more than 8,000
persons annually; and
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15 | WHEREAS, According to the Department of Defense, more than | ||||||
16 | 65,000 non-citizen immigrants were
serving in the U.S. Armed | ||||||
17 | Forces as of 2008 - accounting for at least 5% of the total | ||||||
18 | active-duty personnel; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The Immigration Reform Act of 1996 broadened the | ||||||
20 | criteria for removable offenses to
include shoplifting, |
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1 | misdemeanor drug offenses, and other minor offenses, allowing | ||||||
2 | the Department of
Homeland Security to quietly deport veterans | ||||||
3 | who have fallen on hard times; and
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4 | WHEREAS, According to Banished Veterans, a support group | ||||||
5 | for deported veterans, there are currently
3,000 veterans in | ||||||
6 | immigration detention centers or in removal proceedings at any | ||||||
7 | given time; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Veterans that have been deported do not have | ||||||
9 | access to Veterans Affairs benefits or other
benefits designed | ||||||
10 | for veterans; and
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11 | WHEREAS, The nation owes these veterans adequate support | ||||||
12 | and rehabilitation equal to that of
veterans with full | ||||||
13 | citizenship; and
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14 | WHEREAS, The non-citizen parents, spouses, and children of | ||||||
15 | veterans and service men and women who
have been killed during | ||||||
16 | active duty still face risk of deportation; and
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17 | WHEREAS, These veteran family members also need adequate | ||||||
18 | rehabilitation and mental health
resources in order to cope | ||||||
19 | with extreme hardship and loss that is a result of war; and
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20 | WHEREAS, After having served time for their crimes in the |
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1 | criminal justice system, non-citizen veterans are almost
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2 | immediately dropped at the doorsteps of their country of birth - | ||||||
3 | with no resources, no
contacts and, at times, no knowledge of | ||||||
4 | the language, resulting in compounded punishment; and
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5 | WHEREAS, These valiant veterans are solely allowed reentry | ||||||
6 | into the United States
posthumously for their burial in a U.S. | ||||||
7 | military cemetery; therefore, be it
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8 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
9 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
10 | recognize the plight of these veterans and urge the United | ||||||
11 | States Congress and the
President of the United States to | ||||||
12 | provide these veterans and their
families the honors and | ||||||
13 | benefits that they have earned; and be it further
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14 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
15 | delivered to President Barack Obama, U.S. Speaker of the House | ||||||
16 | Paul Ryan, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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