Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the sponsor and proponents of this legislation. It is so startling, stunning, shocking, absurd to even be…”

“I thank the sponsor and proponents of this legislation. It is so startling, stunning, shocking, absurd to even be standing here discussing the deportation of men and women who have worn the uniform and have offered to sacrifice their lives for the oldest democracy in the world. Mr. Speaker, it is clearly an effort that is long overdue, and I am stunned by my friends on the other side of the aisle--I have said that word, stunned and shocked, that there would be any opposition to this. We know that immigrants have served in the United States Armed Forces in every major conflict, and there are now 45,000 immigrants serving in the armed forces in this country. It is important that we fix the gap, the loophole, the calls that are gotten when immigrants are deported. This legislation, I am very grateful to say, is about fixing this problem. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 7946, that would require or would have DHS create and enforce a system for identifying noncitizen veterans and require their status as a veteran to be brought into consideration in the case of removal proceedings. Their service record will also be brought into it. Any of us can believe it, they could be heroic, and that doesn't even count in today's scheme. It would also require DHS to provide the opportunity for eligible noncitizen veterans to be granted lawful permanent residence.…”