Speech #1060023062

Mr. President. I rise today to introduce legislation that would ensure that veterans of the United States Armed Forces are not summarily deported from this country. This bill would correct a grave injustice wrought by the recent changes in immigration policy. which has resulted in decorated war veterans being deported without any administrative or judicial consideration of the equities. Under the immigration "reform" legislation enacted in 1996. Congress passed and the President endorsed a broad expansion of the definition of what makes a legal resident deportable. In the rush to be the toughest on illegal immigration. the bill also vastly limited relief from deportation and imposed mandatory detention for thousands of permanent residents in deportation proceedings. The zealousness of Congress and the White House to be tough on aliens has successfully snared permanent residents who have spilled their blood for our country. As the INS prepares to deport these American veterans. we have not even been kind enough to thank them for their service with a hearing to listen to their story and consider whether. just possibly. their military service or other life circumstances outweighs the governments interest in deporting them. Here is the cold and ugly side of our "tough" immigration policies. Here are the human consequences of legislating by 30second political ad. Unfortunately the checks and balances of our government have failed these veterans because Congress and this Administration are determined not to be outdone by each other. "Tough" in this case means blinding ourselves to the personal consequences of these people. It means substituting discretion with a cold rubber stamp that can only say "no." Our national policy on deportation of veterans is particularly outrageous at a time when we are sending tens of thousands of U.S. servicemen and women. including untold numbers of permanent residents. into harms way. Why has Congress asked the INS to devote its limited resources to hunting down noncitizens who previously answered this countrys call to duty. some of whom were permanently disabled in the course of their service? Interestingly. it appears that even the INS agrees that military service or other life circumstances may. on occasion. outweigh the governments interest in deportation. In one recent case. which I brought to the attention of INS Commissioner Meissner. the INS eventually reached this conclusion. I am honored if my intervention played a part in obtaining some semblance of justice for Sergeant Rafael Ramirez and his family. However. Sergeant Ramirezs example confirms the need to ensure that every veterans case is carefully reviewed by an immigration judge empowered to do justice. The legislation that I introduce today restores for veterans the opportunity to go before an immigration judge to present the equities of their case and to have a Federal court review any deportation decision. It also provides veterans with an opportunity to be released from detention while their case is under consideration. The injustice addressed by this bill is just one egregious example of how recent immigration "reform" has resulted in the breakup of American families and the deportation of people who have contributed to our country. This Congress needs to address the broader injustices that our prior oneupmanship caused. In the meantime. this bill is an important step in the right direction.