103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4868

 

Introduced 2/7/2024, by Rep. Hoan Huynh

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Establishes a military immigrant family legacy program within the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Requires the program to be jointly developed and implemented by the Director of Veterans' Affairs (Director) and the Adjutant General of the Department of Military Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Human Services' Office of Welcoming Centers for Refugee and Immigrant Services. Provides that the primary purpose of the program shall be to assist uniformed service members, veterans, reserve component members, and their family members to secure legal immigration status in the United States, including, but not limited to, citizenship. Provides that 2 military immigrant family legacy program coordinators shall be appointed to administer the program. Sets forth the coordinators' duties, including, but not limited to: (1) assisting intended recipients, who may qualify for adjustment of status, special immigration status through the federal Parole in Place program, or any other sort of immigration relief, including relief that can lead to citizenship; communicating with the Director and the Adjutant General and the Department of Human Services' Office of Welcoming Centers for Refugee and Immigrant Services regarding existing policies and regulations pertaining to the needs of intended recipients and to make recommendations regarding the improvement of benefits and services to such intended recipients; and (3) developing and maintaining a clearinghouse for information and resources relating to the program as well as other federal, State, local, and nonprofit programs that may offer assistance to intended recipients in immigration matters. Requires program coordinators to submit a report to the Director and the Adjutant General on January 1, 2026 and each January 1 thereafter that provides a description and evaluation of the coordinators' activities for the preceding calendar year as well as any recommendations for future programmatic changes. Requires the Director and the Adjutant General to jointly submit the report on an annual basis to the Governor and the General Assembly. Makes conforming changes to the Department of Human Services Act and the Military Code of Illinois.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended
5by adding Section 10-68 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 1305/10-68 new)
7    Sec. 10-68. Advise on State military immigrant family
8legacy program coordinators. The Department's Office of
9Welcoming Centers for Refugee and Immigrant Services shall
10advise the State military immigrant family legacy program
11coordinators as provided in Section 40 of the Department of
12Veterans' Affairs Act.
 
13    Section 10. The Military Code of Illinois is amended by
14adding Section 22-7.1 as follows:
 
15    (20 ILCS 1805/22-7.1 new)
16    Sec. 22-7.1. State military immigrant family legacy
17program support coordinator. The Adjutant General shall
18encourage the development of and provide for the establishment
19of a State military immigrant family legacy program
20coordinator, as provided in Section 40 of the Department of
21Veterans' Affairs Act.
 

 

 

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1    Section 15. The Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is
2amended by changing Section 2 and by adding Section 40 as
3follows:
 
4    (20 ILCS 2805/2)  (from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67)
5    Sec. 2. Powers and duties. The Department shall have the
6following powers and duties:
7    To perform such acts at the request of any veteran, or his
8or her spouse, surviving spouse or dependents as shall be
9reasonably necessary or reasonably incident to obtaining or
10endeavoring to obtain for the requester any advantage, benefit
11or emolument accruing or due to such person under any law of
12the United States, the State of Illinois or any other state or
13governmental agency by reason of the service of such veteran,
14and in pursuance thereof shall:
15        (1) Contact veterans, their survivors and dependents
16    and advise them of the benefits of state and federal laws
17    and assist them in obtaining such benefits;
18        (2) Establish field offices and direct the activities
19    of the personnel assigned to such offices;
20        (3) Create and maintain a volunteer field force; the
21    volunteer field force may include representatives from the
22    following without limitation: educational institutions,
23    labor organizations, veterans organizations, employers,
24    churches, and farm organizations; the volunteer field

 

 

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1    force may not process federal veterans assistance claims;
2        (4) Conduct informational and training services;
3        (5) Conduct educational programs through newspapers,
4    periodicals, social media, television, and radio for the
5    specific purpose of disseminating information affecting
6    veterans and their dependents;
7        (6) Coordinate the services and activities of all
8    state departments having services and resources affecting
9    veterans and their dependents;
10        (7) Encourage and assist in the coordination of
11    agencies within counties giving service to veterans and
12    their dependents;
13        (8) Cooperate with veterans organizations and other
14    governmental agencies;
15        (9) Make, alter, amend and promulgate reasonable rules
16    and procedures for the administration of this Act;
17        (10) Make and publish annual reports to the Governor
18    regarding the administration and general operation of the
19    Department;
20        (11) (Blank);
21        (12) (Blank); and
22        (13) Provide informational resources and education to
23    veterans returning from deployment regarding service
24    animals for individuals with disabilities, including, but
25    not limited to, resources and education on service animals
26    that guide people who are blind, pull a wheelchair, alert

 

 

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1    a person with hearing loss, protect a person having a
2    seizure, assist a person with a traumatic brain injury,
3    and calm a person with post-traumatic stress disorder
4    during an anxiety attack or psychiatric episode; and .
5        (14) To encourage the development of and provide for
6    the establishment of a State military immigrant family
7    legacy program coordinator, as provided in Section 40.
8    The Department may accept and hold on behalf of the State,
9if for the public interest, a grant, gift, devise or bequest of
10money or property to the Department made for the general
11benefit of Illinois veterans, including the conduct of
12informational and training services by the Department and
13other authorized purposes of the Department. The Department
14shall cause each grant, gift, devise or bequest to be kept as a
15distinct fund and shall invest such funds in the manner
16provided by the Public Funds Investment Act, as now or
17hereafter amended, and shall make such reports as may be
18required by the Comptroller concerning what funds are so held
19and the manner in which such funds are invested. The
20Department may make grants from these funds for the general
21benefit of Illinois veterans. Grants from these funds, except
22for the funds established under Sections 2.01a and 2.03, shall
23be subject to appropriation.
24    The Department has the power to make grants, from funds
25appropriated from the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund,
26for benefits authorized under the Survivors Compensation Act.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 99-314, eff. 8-7-15; 99-576, eff. 7-15-16;
2100-84, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
3    (20 ILCS 2805/40 new)
4    Sec. 40. Military Immigrant Family Legacy Program.
5    (a) As used in this Section:
6    "Adjutant General" means the Adjutant General of the
7Department of Military Affairs.
8    "Coordinator" means an employee of the Department
9appointed by the Director of Veterans' Affairs, or an employee
10of the Department of Military Affairs appointed by the
11Adjutant General, to serve as a military immigrant family
12legacy program coordinator as provided under subsection (c).
13    "Department" means the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
14    "Director" means the Director of the Department of
15Veterans' Affairs.
16    "Intended recipients" means uniformed service members,
17veterans, reserve component members, and their family members.
18    "Program" means the military immigrant family legacy
19program.
20    "Qualifying condition" means a diagnosis of post-traumatic
21stress disorder or traumatic brain injury made by, or an
22experience of military sexual trauma, as described in 38
23U.S.C. 1720D, as amended from time to time, disclosed to an
24individual licensed to provide health care services at a
25United States Department of Veterans Affairs facility or to an

 

 

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1individual licensed to provide health care services within the
2State of Illinois.
3    "Reserve component members" means individuals serving in
4the United States Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps
5Reserve, the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard, or
6Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service during the time the
7unit was federally recognized as a reserve component.
8    "Uniformed services" means the Army, Navy, Marine Corps,
9Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, Public Health
10Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
11Administration Commissioned Officer Corps of the United
12States.
13    "Uniformed service member" means a member of the United
14States Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force Corps, Marine Corps,
15Coast Guard, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or
16National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned
17Officer Corps serving on active duty.
18    "Veteran" means a person who served on active duty in the
19uniformed services of the United States, or in the Army
20National Guard, Air National Guard, or Illinois National
21Guard, or as a commissioned officer in the Public Health
22Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
23Administration, or as a cadet at a United States armed forces
24service academy, and who has been released from such service
25under other than dishonorable conditions. "Veteran" includes
26any veteran with a qualifying condition who has received a

 

 

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1discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such
2service.
3    (b) There is established within the Department, in
4conjunction with the Department of Military Affairs, a
5military immigrant family legacy program which shall be
6jointly developed and implemented by the Director and the
7Adjutant General, in consultation with the Department of Human
8Services' Office of Welcoming Centers for Refugee and
9Immigrant Services, and in accordance with the provisions of
10this Section. The primary purpose of the program shall be to
11assist intended recipients to secure legal immigration status
12in the United States, including, but not limited to,
13citizenship.
14    (c) Two military immigrant family legacy program
15coordinators shall be appointed, one appointed by the Director
16and one by the Adjutant General, to administer the program.
17Each coordinator shall be a veteran. The coordinators' duties
18shall include, but not be limited to:
19        (1) Assisting intended recipients, who may qualify for
20    adjustment of status, special immigration status through
21    the federal Parole in Place program authorized by Section
22    1758 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
23    Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92), or any other sort of
24    immigration relief, including relief that can lead to
25    citizenship, in securing legal representation or
26    consultation by qualified immigration attorneys or duly

 

 

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1    authorized representatives of the Board Of Immigration
2    Appeals as may be necessary to obtain such relief.
3        (2) Communicating with the Director and the Adjutant
4    General and the Office of Welcoming Centers for Refugee
5    and Immigrant Services regarding existing policies and
6    regulations pertaining to the needs of intended recipients
7    and to make recommendations regarding the improvement of
8    benefits and services to such intended recipients.
9        (3) Serving as liaison between the Department and the
10    Department of Military Affairs, the United States
11    Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and
12    Customs Enforcement, the United States Department of
13    Veterans Affairs, the United States Department of Defense,
14    local veterans' services agencies, State agencies,
15    community groups, advocates, and other veterans and
16    military organizations and interested parties for the
17    purpose of coordinating efforts to provide immigration
18    relief to intended recipients.
19        (4) Consulting with qualified immigration attorneys or
20    duly authorized and approved representatives of the Board
21    of Immigration Appeals to facilitate such coordination
22    with the United States Citizenship and Immigration
23    Services or any other appropriate agency.
24        (5) Advocating for intended recipients.
25        (6) Developing and maintaining a clearinghouse for
26    information and resources relating to the program as well

 

 

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1    as other federal, State, local, and nonprofit programs
2    that may offer assistance to intended recipients in
3    immigration matters.
4        (7) Promoting events and activities that educate and
5    assist intended recipients, including, but not limited to,
6    veteran human rights conferences and veterans benefit and
7    resources events.
8        (8) Including the contributions that intended
9    recipients have made on behalf of the United States and
10    this State on the Department's official website.
11        (9) Developing information to be made available to
12    congressionally chartered veterans' organizations, and
13    local veterans' services agencies to provide a general
14    overview of the program, including, but not limited to,
15    its purpose and the eligibility requirements for
16    adjustment of status, citizenship, or any other form of
17    available relief.
18        (10) Preparing reports on topics, including, but not
19    limited to, the demographics of intended recipients
20    residing in the State, including the number of such
21    intended recipients by county, an estimate of how many may
22    be eligible for naturalization, and the unique needs of
23    the intended recipients within Illinois to the Director,
24    the Adjutant General, and the Department of Human
25    Services' Office of Welcoming Centers for Refugee and
26    Immigrant Services.

 

 

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1    (d) The coordinators shall submit a report to the Director
2and the Adjutant General on January 1, 2026 and each January 1
3thereafter. Such report shall include, but not be limited to,
4a description and evaluation of the coordinators' activities
5for the preceding calendar year as well as any recommendations
6for future programmatic changes. The Director and the Adjutant
7General shall jointly submit the report on an annual basis to
8the Governor and the General Assembly.

 

 

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3    20 ILCS 1305/10-68 new
4    20 ILCS 1805/22-7.1 new
5    20 ILCS 2805/2from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67
6    20 ILCS 2805/40 new