TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, most Americans would be outraged to learn
that hundreds, if not thousands, of veterans have been deported after
serving honorably in the United States military, but this is the
shocking truth about our broken immigration system. These unjust deportations of veterans are still occurring. Let me
cite the case of Chong Hwan Kim, a South Korean immigrant who has lived
in this country since he was 5 years old. In 2009, he was deployed to
Iraq and was honorably discharged a year later. Legal permanent
residents qualify for citizenship if they serve just one day on Active
Duty during a time of war. Suffering from PTSD and facing the same challenges that many veterans
face reintegrating into society, Kim broke the law, and because he
never completed the process of becoming a citizen, he currently awaits
deportation. Veterans like Chong Hwan Kim deserve better. They deserve the dignity
and respect that we afford to all who serve, and they deserve to enjoy
the rights they risked their lives to protect.
Keywords matched
immigration deported deportations immigrant deportation