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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 | ||||||
| 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
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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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