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[Pages S1699-S1700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CITIZENSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF MILITARY MEMBERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS ACT
Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud my colleagues
for passing H.R. 4803, Citizenship for Children of Military Members and
Civil Servants Act, without amendment by unanimous consent.
Last year, Senator Johnny Isakson joined me in introducing the
bipartisan Senate companion to H.R. 4803 to make sure that when
children of U.S. citizens serving in the U.S. Armed Forces or working
for the U.S. Government are born abroad because their parents are
serving our Nation overseas, they automatically acquire U.S.
citizenship.
The unanimous passage of the Citizenship for Children of Military
Members and Civil Servants Act by the U.S. House of Representatives and
the U.S. Senate sends a strong message that children born to American
parents serving our country abroad are just as worthy of automatic
citizenship as any other child in this country.
This principle should not be controversial. That is why for the past
15 years, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services considered children
of members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Federal Government employees
stationed outside the United States to be deemed as ``residing in the
United States'' for the purpose of automatically acquiring citizenship.
This policy was pragmatic and cut burdensome redtape for American
parents willing to serve our Nation abroad
[[Page S1700]]
as U.S. servicemembers or civil servants. It provided flexibility and
allowed U.S. citizen parents to meet residency requirements for
acquisition of citizenship while serving overseas. It kept American
parents from cutting their overseas commitment short to establish
residency so their children could earn citizenship. This policy allowed
their children to enjoy the same privileges of acquiring citizenship,
as if their parents were working and living within our country's
borders.
However, in August 2019, the Trump administration enacted a policy
change to reverse this practice. Under this new policy, certain
Americans serving their Nation abroad, in uniform or in the civil
service, must apply for citizenship on behalf of their children. These
parents now have to navigate a complex bureaucratic process and spend
hundreds of dollars on an application, with no guarantee that their
children will receive citizenship of the very country they are serving
abroad in uniform or as a Federal employee.
In fact, this policy change caused Republican and Democratic
lawmakers to recognize that current citizenship laws disadvantage these
patriotic families. Our citizenship laws and bureaucratic requirements
inflict undue burden on these families and make American parents
``prove'' that their children are worthy of U.S. citizenship.
As a combat veteran, I understand the challenges and family stressors
that face Active-Duty members deployed to defend our Nation overseas.
Congress should be helping U.S. servicemembers focus on achieving their
mission. Providing U.S. servicemembers and civil servants with the
peace of mind that they will not have to navigate a lengthy and
expensive process to apply for U.S. citizenship for their children
advances this important goal.
Our commonsense legislation codifies the previous policy by
clarifying the Immigration and Nationality Act to clearly require that
children of U.S. citizen parents born in a foreign nation while their
parents are stationed abroad automatically acquire U.S. citizenship.
I urge the President to honor the service and dedication of our U.S.
servicemembers, military families, and Federal workforce by signing the
Citizenship for Children of Military Members and Civil Servants Act
into law.
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