SENATE PASSES SOLIS' PROVISIONS TO FACILITATE CITIZENSHIP AND FAMILY PROTECTIONS TO IMMIGRANT SOLDIERS AND RESERVISTS INCLUDED IN DOD BILL  
  
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32) applauded the Senate passage of the Department of Defense Authorization Conference Report Bill (H.R. 1588) for including key military immigration provisions from her bill.  The majority of the provisions in Solis' original bill, the Naturalization and Family Protection for Military Members Act of 2003 (H.R. 1814), were included in the DOD Authorization.

"Through out history, immigrant soldiers have defended our country honorably in large numbers.  Today's vote is a victory for our courageous 50,000 legal immigrants that currently serve our country," said Congresswoman Solis.  "This bill honors their sacrifices by removing the barriers that delay citizenship for immigrant soldiers and ensures important protections for their family members."

Throughout our history, immigrant soldiers have made enormous contributions to our military.  Presently, 37,000 lawful permanent residents serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Twenty percent of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor our nation bestows on war heroes, have been immigrants.  Another 13,000 serve as members of the reserves.  Over 3, 000 legal immigrants have served the U.S. military in Iraq.

Specifically, the military immigration provisions included in the DOD Authorization bill would (a) Allow lawful permanent residents to naturalize after serving one year in the military during peacetime; (b)  Allow naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies to be performed abroad at U.S. embassies, consulates, and overseas military installations; (c) Waive all naturalization fees (d) Grant lawful permanent resident, who are members of the Selected Reserves of the Ready Reserves, to expedite their naturalization in times of war or hostile military operations; (e) Allow non-citizen spouses, unmarried children, and parents of citizens and non-citizens serving in the U.S. military who are killed as a result of such service to file or preserve their application for lawful permanent residence; (f) Permit the discretionary revocation of citizenship for separation from military services under other than honorable conditions within the first five years of military service during both peace time and war time (Under current law, such revocation is allowed during wartime); (j)  Sec. of Defense shall prescribe a policy that facilitates the opportunity for a service member to finalize naturalization, including a high priority for grant of emergency leave and high priority for transportation on aircraft, or chartered by, the Armed Forces; and (h) Expedite process for granting posthumous citizenship.

The bill was passed with bipartisan support in the Senate (95-3).