Happy Veterans Day!

ImmigrationProf earlier in the week posted the link to a report about the essential role that immigrants play in the current U.S. military.  On the eve of Veteran’s Day, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced in the Senate, the Military Families Act, S. 2757, joined by co-sponsors Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The bill seeks to provide immigration relief to parents, spouses, or children of US Armed Forces members. Senator Menendez announced the introduction of the bill with Army Specialist Jack Barrios, his wife Frances, and with Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. Today, US military families are impacted by our broken immigration system which forces men and women in uniform into the same predicament as millions of other Americans who have spouses, parents, or children who are undocumented and may face deportation proceedings even though they have qualifying relationships to obtain legal status. The introduction of this bill is especially meaningful today on Veterans Day, as the nation, engaged in two wars, mourns the recent tragedy at Fort Hood, and reflects on the enormous sacrifices made by members of the US Armed Forces and their families.

KJ