Duckworth Renews Push to Help Protect Servicemembers and Veterans from Deportation Ahead of Veterans Day and Amid Trump’s Continued Attacks Against our Heroes

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Ahead of Veterans Day and as Donald Trump continues to target our brave immigrant Veterans and servicemembers in his mass deportation campaign, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) renewed her push to protect and support these heroes who have proven they are willing to make tremendous sacrifices to defend our nation. Duckworth reintroduced a package of bills—theVeterans Visa and Protection Act, HOPE ActandI-VETS Act—that would prohibit the deportation of immigrant Veterans who are not violent offenders, provide these Veterans with a pathway to citizenship through their military service and help ensure those who have already been deported can access the VA healthcare services they are entitled to. The introduction follows the saddening news that Miguel Perez, a Chicagoan and U.S. combat Veteran who was shamefully deported by the first Trump Administration and whom Duckworthsuccessfully helpedreturn to the United States, passed away three weeks ago.
“It is unconscionable that Donald Trump—a man who has never served a day in his life—is once again targeting our nation’s immigrant servicemembers and Veterans in his inhumane ICE raids,”said Duckworth.“There is no higher betrayal to our heroes than to be deported by the same nation they sacrificed to defend—but this is what happens when our nation’s immigration policies are rooted more in hate than in logic. On this Veterans Day, I’m once again reintroducing a package of common-sense bills that would help make it easier for them to become citizens, live with their families and ensure those who have already been deported can return to U.S. soil to access the life-saving VA care they earned and deserve, but may currently be barred from accessing. These Veterans fought for this country, and it’s past time we fight for them too.”
The following bills to remove barriers to citizenship and healthcare for servicemembers and Veterans were re-introduced today by Senator Duckworth:
Once a Veteran is deported, they are usually unable to access the full VA benefits they have earned and would receive if they were still living in the United States. Many have trouble accessing even basic medical care, even though Veterans struggle with higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and physical health problems like chronic pain than the general population. Many deported Veterans are also separated from their families and their children who live in the U.S., while those deported to Mexico or Central America are especially vulnerable to threats from gangs and drug cartels due to their military experience.
Duckworth’s legislation is endorsed by the American Legion.
Duckworth has been a fierce leader and advocate for improving our Veterans’ and servicemembers’ access to the care they need—and she’s long been active in protecting Veterans from deportation and helping those deported gain citizenship and access to VA services. In September, shereintroduced legislationthat would improve Veterans’ access to contraception and increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness for contraceptive products at the VA. A few weeks prior, Duckworthsent a letterto VA Secretary Collins demanding he block ICE from stealing VA resources at Hines VA Hospital in Chicago. Duckworth also joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) inreintroducinglegislation to help make it easier for our Veterans who struggle with infertility to build their families. Earlier this year,Duckworth railed against the Trump Administrationfor indiscriminately firing Veterans Crisis Line workers and introduced herProtect Veteran Jobs Actwith U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) to reinstate the thousands of Veterans who were fired in Trump’s mass layoffs—an effort Republicans shamefullyblockedin March.
In 2021, Duckworthreleased a reportthat details the history of immigrants enlisting in the U.S. military, the complicated path to military naturalization, barriers deported Veterans face in accessing Veterans Affairs’ benefits, recommended policy solutions and much more. The Senator previously introduced theStrengthening Citizenship Services for Veterans Act, legislation that would ensure deported Veterans who have successfully completed the preliminary naturalization process can attend their citizenship interview at a port of entry, embassy or consulate without navigating the complex process of advance parole. In 2019, Duckworthtraveled to Tijuana, Mexico, on Veterans Day to meet with a group of Veterans who have been deported to hear about their efforts to access the VA healthcare benefits they’ve earned.
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