Judge and an Immigration Law attorney. The subcommittee will come to order. With the indulgence of our witnesses before we proceed to the hearing, i think many of us would like to say a comment or two about the late john conyers, who was a member of this committee for many decades. Who gave his life to public service, and who loved this committee very greatly. He passed away just a few days ago having served his country in both the armed forces and in congress. So we do mourn his passing and it would not be in keeping with our traditions to proceed without at least giving our condolences to his family and to those who sent him to congress for so many decades to represent them. At this point, i would like to recognize mr. Nadler, the chairman of the full committee for remarks on mr. Conyers. Thank you, madame chairperson. Americans across the country are mourning the loss of john conyers today, but nowhere is his loss felt more deeply than here in the Judiciary Committee, which he served for more than 50 years as a member of this committee. Including more than 20 years as either its chairman or Ranking Member. John conyers was a true champion for civil rights and justice for the oppressed and disenfranchised. Prior to his service in congress, he was on the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement and was in selma, alabama, for the freedom day voter drive in 1963. He also holds the distinction of being the only member of congress to be endorsed by dr. Martin luther king jr. He hired rosa parks to work on his staff when other civil rights activism caused hers to shun her. Even when doing so, was a lonely pursuit. He authored universal Health Care Legislation long before it became a mainstream idea. He first introduced hr40, legislation to study reparations for jim crow back in 1989. At the same time he had a long track record of working across the aisle to enact important Bipartisan Legislation such as the violence against women act and the fair sentencing act and the usa freedom act and the Voting Rights act. As a leader in the Judiciary Committee, congressman conyers spearheaded and passed such important legislation as the Martin Luther king jr. Holiday act, hate crimes legislation and the innocence protection act. But his impact on the house cannot just be measured in terms of how many bills he sponsored or considered in committee. He was a Founding Member of the Congressional Black Caucus and he was a mentor to many members, including me, who benefitted from his wisdom and grace. John was my colleague, my friend and my chairman. I am honored and humbled to serve in his footsteps leading this committee and i am comforted by the portrait that hangs above me knowing hes watching us and hopfully approving as we attempt to carry on his legacy. My thoughts are with his family and all those whose hearts are heavy today because of his loss. My heart is with the country, who has lost the benefit of his leadership. May his memory be a blessing. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the Ranking Member of the full committee, mr. Collins, for his statement. Thank you, madam chair. I echo the chairmans statements about the accomplishments and the long list of accomplishments of that have been listed out and mr. Conyers was amazing in the length and breadth and statements of what he made. But i choose to emphasize also the what he accomplished from his, you know, time as chair and also his Ranking Member when i worked with him on many occasions before his leaving the house. But the thing that i remember the most is just his kindness, his sense of humor, his dress, his sharpest dresser always in the room, and especially on codels and one of my highlights in congress was a few years ago working on the Police Working group. We went to detroit and he was host for that. And it was just a really neat time to let him show his city and where he came from, and i was pleased with that. The last memory i will hold dearest for me was is when you get to watch and youre amazed and still am by everything, but i can remember one day leaving this committee and we were going to the floor for a vote. We went down to the trains that take us to the capitol for this vote. And we were coming back to the hearing room and it just happened to be me and him. I had only been here a month or two. I was introducing myself and i introduced and he said, youre from georgia, right . I said, yes, sir. We talked back and forth. I said, just curious, youve been here a long time. What brought you i said, im going to ask this a question lot, but what brought you to congress . He starts chuckling a little bit and he looks at me and says, well, i really wanted to come be a part of the Judiciary Committee to work on the Voting Rights act of 1964. And i stopped for a second and i look aed at him and i said, tha was 2 1 2 years before i was born. He laughed and he said, yep, ive been here a while. He said, if you stick around, youll see a lot of things. That was the gentleman i got to know and its the nation mourns that and this committee mourns that. And it would be, as the chairwoman said, it would be remiss if we dont recognize that today. With that i yield back. Gentleman yields back and all other members will be invited to submit whatever comments they might wish on mr. Conyers at this time. Its now my pleasure to welcome everyone to this mornings hearing or this afternoons hearing, on the impact of current immigration policies on Service Members and veterans and their families. Over the last 2 1 2 years the administration has implemented numerous policy changes that have made life more difficult for noncitizen members of the United States armed forces, veterans and their families. In addition, the administrations heavy emphasis on Immigration Enforcement as well as the elimination of prosecutorial discretion when it comes to Immigration Enforcement has resulted in the removal or attempted removal of far too many lawful, permanent resident veterans who honorably served our country, but struggled with the transition back into civilian life, some who were disabled by ptsd. This hearing will allow the subcommittee to explore how these policy changes and the unforgiving nature of our Immigration Laws have impacted active duty Service Members, veterans and their families. At this point, i would like to, without objection, recognize my colleague, representative correa as a champion of this very important issue who will preside over this hearing and to whom i yield the remainder of my time for his opening statement. Good afternoon. Welcome. Without objection, first id like request of permission to submit these letters on part of the record. These are letters on the impact of current immigration policies on Service Members, veterans and their families. First of all, let me thank my colleague, representative lofgren, chairwoman of the citizenship subcommittee for her leadership. And i appreciate the opportunity to preside over this most important hearing today. And as we approach veterans day, we have to recognize and honor all our veterans, including immigrant veterans who have served our country honorably in the armed forces from the revolutionary war to the recent conflicts in afghanistan and iraq. And today there are over half a million foreignborn veterans in the United States. As recently as 2012 there were 24,000 immigrants as part of the active duty force. The fill philippines, mexico, jamaica and south korea account for the greatest number of these foreignborn veterans. And regardless of where they were born, immigrant Service Members are americans in every sense of the word. More than once, ive shared the story of marine Corporal JoseAngel Garibay who was born in mexico. Corporate garibay was killed in action in 2003 after iraqi forces pretending to surrender ambushed him and his fellow marines. He was one of Orange Countys first combat casualties in the iraq war and corporal garibay was posthumously was given american citizenship. He made the ultimate sacrifice and he was a dreamer. When foreignborn Service Members and veterans are willing to defend the United States, a country they love, we have an obligation to uphold our promise to provide for these patriots american citizenship. Sadly, since 1996, thousands of noncitizen veterans who took the oath of allegiance and were honorably discharged have been deported. No one puts the uniform on and is honorably and who was honorably discharged should be subject to deportation. As every soldier knows, you never lead a soldier behind. Sadly, the u. S. Immigration and custom enforcement, or i. C. E. , does not follow policies for solving cases of potentially removal veterans and does not always identify and track such veterans. As a result, i. C. E. Does not know how many veterans it has deported. And conveniently, the administration has adopted policies that affect the naturalization process for military Service Members and veterans. As a result, military naturalizations have decreased by 44 , from 7,300 in fiscal year 2017 to about 4,000 in fiscal year 2018. In august of 2019, u. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service announced a change to the definition of the term residents, and in effect, children born to certain u. S. Service members stationed abroad will now be required to naturalize under a lengthier and more complicated application process. Together with my colleague representative Veronica Escobar of texas, we led a letter to the u. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, acting director ken cuccinelli, asking for reconsideration of this policy. And without objection, id like to submit that letter as part of this record. In total, these policy changes negatively affect military recruitment and effectiveness and turn our back on immigrant Service Member, veterans and their families. This is unacceptable and we need to correct this situation, and i look forward to hearing the testimony of our witnesses today. And it is now my pleasure to recognize the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, the gentle member of colorado, mr. Buck, for an opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Immigrants have served in our Armed Forces Throughout the countrys history, recognizing their sacrifice, congress has provided in law for the expedited Foreign Nationals who served honorably in the u. S. Armed forces. In periods of hostility that includes september 11, 2001, to present, a noncitizen member of the military forces can apply if the individual has served honorably in an active status. Naturalization is voluntary and not automatic, and not all in the military must apply for it, receive a favorable adjudication and take the oath of allegiance to become a naturalized u. S. Citizen. As part of the process the department of defense must certify Honorable Service which they often do after background checks have been made and alien has met the time and Service Requirement, in most cases, 180 days. This policy is a reasonable requirement to ensure and deter the termination by statue. Since october 1, 2001 United StatesImmigration Agency has naturalized approximately 130,000 members of the military, many of those members naturalizing while deployed abroad. Today we will discuss the difficult issue of noncitizen veterans of the u. S. Military who have been removed from the United States. Its important to note that no one is above the legal consequences, criminal or otherwise, of their behavior. The cases of veterans and removal proceedings should be handled according to guidance that has been in place through several administrations and with sensitivity to those who may have suffered from Mental Health problems due to their service. I am also originaled to be an original cosponsor with Ranking Member collins, chairman nadler and chairman lofgren of hr3803, citizenship for children and military members and Civil Servants act. This bipartisan bill makes a technical change to the residents and requirements of sections 320 of the immigration and nationality act. This will ensure that children of the u. S. Armed forces, members stationed abroad can automatically acquire citizenship where all other requirements are met. It will make sure they are not disadvantaged simply because their u. S. Citizen parent is stationed abroad. We introduced hr4803 earlier this month. Im proud of our work on this bill since it shows when a change in the law is necessary, it is possible for us to Work Together to get it done. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses today, and i yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, mr. Buck. I will now recognize the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and gentle member from new york, mr. Nadler, for his opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Immigrants have served in the u. S. Armed forces in every major conflict since the revolutionary war. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center in 2016, there were approximately 511,000 foreignborn veterans of the armed forces residing in the United States. The children of immigrants also make up a substantial portion of todays veteran population. Every day these brave men and women risk their lives in service to our country. We rely on them to keep our nation safe, to provide stability in politically fragile regions and protect u. S. Global interests. In return we must honor their sacrifices, ensure they and their families are supported and give them every opportunity to become u. S. Citizens. Unfortunately, as a result of the unforgiving nature of our Immigration Laws and numerous policy changes implemented by the Trump Administration, it appears that the opposite is happening. Under the Trump Administration, the department of defense and u. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, uscis, have implemented numerous policy changes that have undermine add congresss clear intent to provide an expedited naturalization process for military Service Members and veterans. For example, in october 2017 the pentagon made it more difficult for military Service Members to receive a certification of Honorable Service. The document which is essential to expedite the naturalization process. Previously, certifications could be issued as soon as individual began active duty. Now, however, one must at least complete 180 days of Consecutive Service or one year in the selected reserve. In addition, where certifications could previously be issued by any supervising officer, it now must be a Military Branch or commissioned officer serving in the specific pay grade. These changes are unnecessary and cruel. They serve no purpose, but to make it harder for individuals serving our country to become citizens and theyve had a measurable impact. The total military authorization has declined 44 from 7,360 in fiscal year 2017 to just 4,135 in fiscal year 2018. In addition because uscis has cut the number of naturalization services, those stalgsed overseas has become much more limited. Uscis used to provide such services in 23 International Offices in 20 countries. A change that took effect last month, this was cut from 23 International Offices to just four offices. With uscis personnel on site to conduct naturalization interviews, only one week per calendar quarter. Why would we make it more difficult for the men and women who are risking their lives in service of this country to become permanent members of our society . This is both shortsighted and coldhearted. During the hearing we will discuss the plight of u. S. Veterans who struggled with the transition back to civilian life and eventually deported from the country they so nobly served. Many of the veterans have been removed from the United States as a result of convictions and transgressions tied to posttraumatic stress disorder, ptsd, and trauma suffered during active duty and making civilian life more difficult. In other words, they served this country, they had a medical condition sarlgt of it which impaired their judgment, they committed a crime as a result of that medical condition and therefore theyre deported. We can all agree that individuals rightfully convicted of a crime should serve any reasonable sentence imposed. Once that sentence has been served we