Published: 03-04-08
New bill builds on legislation Sen. Cornyn enacted into law in 2003 to greatly reduce waiting times for those serving on front lines of war on terror
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn Ranking Member of the Immigration and Border Security subcommittee today announced his support for new legislation that would further expedite the citizenship process for immigrant men and women serving in the U.S. Military.
This bill builds on legislation Sen. Cornyn successfully enacted into law to expedite the naturalization process for service members who are not citizens. Sen. Cornyn authored the Military Citizenship Act S. 897 which was incorporated into the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004.
Currently many immigrant members of the United States’ all-volunteer military are waiting months even years for their citizenship applications to be approved. The Kendell Frederick Assistance to Citizenship Act S. 2516 calls for enhanced cooperation between the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense on applications fingerprints and background checks.
“The first priority of the federal government is a strong national defense supported by a well-equipped well-trained military particularly as terrorism remains a real and serious threat. As it stands thousands of men and women from other countries are willing to serve in defense of America and our freedoms but a crippled process is hindering their service.
“While these brave men and women are serving as U.S. troops on the front lines of the war on terror their applications for U.S. citizenship are stuck collecting dust in a bureaucracy backlog. This discrepancy is unacceptable” Sen. Cornyn said.
“No one can dispute that major reforms of the entire immigration system are in immediate order. But in the short term we can take this important step now to ensure citizenship applications from immigrant members of our military are prioritized.
I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join me in supporting this legislation to send a clear message to these brave troops that we welcome their service and will be proud to call them fellow Americans.”
Background:
• Shortly following 9/11 President Bush signed an executive order allowing noncitizens on active duty to file for citizenship immediately upon enlistment instead of having to first complete three years of service.
• However delays in background checks and obstacles to inter-agency file-sharing have prevented the citizenship process for immigrant members of the military from being expedited.
• S. 2516 authorizes the Department of Homeland Security’s use of fingerprints submitted by military personnel at the time of enlistment to adjudicate military naturalization applications. S. 2516 also requires centralization of military naturalization cases and adjudication within 180 days from filing.
Sen. Cornyn’s Military Citizenship Act enacted in 2003 expedited citizenship applications for non-citizens in the U.S. military by reducing the required period of service from three years to two and authorizing naturalization proceedings at U.S. embassies consulates and military installations abroad.
