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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, There are a significant number of non-citizen
3veterans of foreign wars, including World War II, the Korean
4War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the
5Afghanistan War, who have been removed from the United States;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, These veterans currently live in terrible and
8abject conditions after having served in the Armed Services of
9the United States; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Several of these veterans have asked for support
11in obtaining reentry into the United States to be with their
12families and their children who are U.S. citizens; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Non-citizens compose a significant portion of the
14Armed Forces, enlisting more than 8,000 persons annually; and
 
15    WHEREAS, According to the Department of Defense, more than
1665,000 non-citizen immigrants were serving in the U.S. Armed
17Forces as of 2008 - accounting for at least 5% of the total
18active-duty personnel; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The Immigration Reform Act of 1996 broadened the
20criteria for removable offenses to include shoplifting,

 

 

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1misdemeanor drug offenses, and other minor offenses, allowing
2the Department of Homeland Security to quietly deport veterans
3who have fallen on hard times; and
 
4    WHEREAS, According to Banished Veterans, a support group
5for deported veterans, there are currently 3,000 veterans in
6immigration detention centers or in removal proceedings at any
7given time; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Veterans that have been deported do not have
9access to Veterans Affairs benefits or other benefits designed
10for veterans; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The nation owes these veterans adequate support
12and rehabilitation equal to that of veterans with full
13citizenship; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The non-citizen parents, spouses, and children of
15veterans and service men and women who have been killed during
16active duty still face risk of deportation; and
 
17    WHEREAS, These veteran family members also need adequate
18rehabilitation and mental health resources in order to cope
19with extreme hardship and loss that is a result of war; and
 
20    WHEREAS, After having served time for their crimes in the

 

 

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1criminal justice system, non-citizen veterans are almost
2immediately dropped at the doorsteps of their country of birth -
3 with no resources, no contacts and, at times, no knowledge of
4the language, resulting in compounded punishment; and
 
5    WHEREAS, These valiant veterans are solely allowed reentry
6into the United States posthumously for their burial in a U.S.
7military cemetery; therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
9NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
10recognize the plight of these veterans and urge the United
11States Congress and the President of the United States to
12provide these veterans and their families the honors and
13benefits that they have earned; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
15delivered to President Barack Obama, U.S. Speaker of the House
16Paul Ryan, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.