Full Text of HR1202 99th General Assembly
HR1202 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 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
| 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
| 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 | 13 | | WHEREAS, Non-citizens compose a significant portion of the | 14 | | Armed Forces, enlisting more than 8,000
persons annually; and | 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 | 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 | 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 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Veterans that have been deported do not have | 9 | | access to Veterans Affairs benefits or other
benefits designed | 10 | | for veterans; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The nation owes these veterans adequate support | 12 | | and rehabilitation equal to that of
veterans with full | 13 | | citizenship; and | 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
| 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
| 20 | | WHEREAS, After having served time for their crimes in the |
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| 1 | | criminal justice system, non-citizen veterans are almost
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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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