Rep. Takano’s Amendment to NDAA to Improve Tracking of Non-Citizen Veterans Passes the House
A GAO Report Found That ICE Does Not Currently Maintain Data on Veterans Encountered During Immigration Proceedings
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Mark Takano’s (D-Calif.) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would improve tracking of non-citizen veterans passed the House. This amendment would direct the Department of Defense (DOD) to notify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when a non-citizen servicemember is honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces. By providing DHS with information on a non-citizen veteran’s service history, more time and additional consideration could be given to a veteran’s case before ICE moves forward with deportation proceedings.
A report released in June by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the deportation of non-citizen military veterans found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not developed a policy to identify and document all military veterans it encounters in interviews during immigration proceedings, nor does it maintain data when an individuals’ veteran status is known or when a non-citizen veteran has been deported.
“We must do everything we can to ensure that veterans are not falling through the cracks of our broken immigration system,” said Rep. Mark Takano. “The passage of this amendment addresses one of the key recommendations issued by the GAO in its report and it will help DHS adequately track non-citizen veterans. By providing DHS with this information directly by DOD, it is my hope that the military service history of non-citizen veterans who find themselves in immigration proceedings will be given proper consideration before deportation proceedings begin. This amendment is a step forward in helping prevent the unjust deportation of military veterans.”
One of the recommendations issued in the GAO report called for the Director of ICE to “collect and maintain complete and electronic data on veterans in removal proceedings or who have been removed.” This amendment seeks to address a major component of this recommendation by requiring DOD to provide DHS with a copy of the Certificate of Release of Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) for each non-citizen servicemember who is honorably discharged from the Armed Forces. This, in turn, would allow DHS to note such discharge in an I-213 Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien form, which is considered and reviewed by immigration judges during deportation proceedings.
By having DOD notify DHS whenever a non-citizen servicemember has been honorably discharged, DHS will have more reliable data to consider when evaluating a non-citizen veteran’s case. The merits for not deporting that individual as they move through immigration court proceedings play a significant role in determining outcomes. Currently, ICE has an agency policy for handling cases of non-citizen veterans who are subject to removal of the United States, but GAO found that ICE has not been consistently adhering to those policies. This amendment would help DHS consider a veterans’ military service history during any deportation proceedings.
In addition to this effort, Rep. Takano sent a letter to Acting ICE Director Morgan in June demanding answers on ICE’s failure to adhere to agency policies that have led to the deportation of an unknown number of non-citizen military veterans.
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