Florida congressman honors fellow Green Beret with bipartisan immigration legislation

Congressman Michael Waltz (R-Florida) seeks to through immigration legislation honor a fellow Green Beret killed in action in Afghanistan, reports Jim Thompson of the Northwest Florida Daily News. The Sergeant First Class Javier J. Gutierrez Purple Heart Survivor Naturalization Fee Relief Act of 2021 “would waive naturalization fees for parents, spouses and children of military personnel who have earned the Purple Heart while serving the United States… [and] would waive those fees for Gold Star families, comprising the families of fallen service members.” The bill, if passed, could save qualifying family members hundreds of dollars in fees.  

In introducing the legislation, Congressman Waltz stated that “This bipartisan legislation demonstrates Congress’s commitment to support the families tendering care to the needs of our wounded servicemembers and to help those bearing the unbearable sacrifice of devotion to our nation . . . . The very least we can do to help these Purple Heart and Gold Star families is to help them become Americans.”

KJ