President Biden has signed several executive orders related to immigration in his first days of office and will continue to sign more in the upcoming days. Senator Tammy Duckworth sent a letter to President Biden asking him to sign another executive order that would create a path to citizenship for immigrants who have served in the U.S. military and their dependents. Many of these service members have been deported.
Senator Duckworth in her letter wrote that many service members deploy without their naturalization while having limited knowledge of their immigration status while they are out of the country. These service members fear that they will be detained and deported when returning from deployment. Duckworth also mentioned that some service members fight with honor overseas for this country, only to be discharged from the military without obtaining citizenship.
Stories of veterans being deported and military units losing new enlistees before attending initial entry training were rampant under President Trump’s leadership. Congress has passed legislation creating a path to citizenship for veterans, but in 2017 a change in policies made it harder for service members to complete their naturalization process. For example, Trump eliminated the MAVNI program, which offered a path to citizenship for non-citizen soldiers with language skills deemed critical to one of the military’s missions.
Senator Duckworth long-needed changes in her letter that focus on immigration in the military. She wants Biden to prohibit the deportation of service members, to develop a visa program that would allow deported veterans to enter the country to complete their citizenship, and allowing noncitizens who enlist in the military to receive permanent resident status. President Biden has addressed the military and immigration as separate issues but has yet to address the issue of immigration in the military.
Pikes Peak Immigration supports military families. Immigration issues involving the military is one of our specialties. We offer a 10% discount to any active-duty service members or veterans. If you have any questions regarding how this issue may impact your case, please call Pikes Peak Immigration to schedule a consultation or meeting.