Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2884) to assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States citizenship, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 2884, the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act, pays tribute to the memory of 21-year-old Army Reserve Specialist Kendell K. Frederick, who was killed in Iraq while attempting to become an American citizen.

Specialist Frederick was born in Trinidad and immigrated to the United States when he was 15 to join his mother, stepfather, and two sisters. He attended Randallstown Senior High in Baltimore County, Maryland, where he joined the school's ROTC program. Specialist Frederick enlisted in the Army Reserve in his senior year and was deployed to Iraq in December of 2004. As he was serving our country, Specialist Frederick sought to apply for U.S. citizenship; yet one bureaucratic hurdle after another delayed his application.

First, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service failed to route his application to the unit that processed naturalization applications for members of the military. That agency then rejected his application for failure to pay an application filing fee, despite the fact that active military personnel applying for U.S. citizenship do not need to pay a filing fee.

Thereafter, this agency directed Specialist Frederick to get his fingerprints taken in Maryland, despite the obvious fact that he was deployed in Iraq at the time. Also, he had recently had his fingerprints taken and undergone a background check when he enlisted in the Army Reserve. When his mother called the agency's ``help line,'' she was told that there was nothing that could be done.

After trying for more than a year to become a U.S. citizen and having his application rejected and delayed as a result of various bureaucratic failings, Specialist Frederick was forced to travel on a convoy to a base where he could get his fingerprints taken for his naturalization application. Tragically, he was killed en route by a roadside bomb. Specialist Frederick was posthumously granted U.S. citizenship a week after his death.

H.R. 2884 would remove unnecessary procedural hurdles like the one Specialist Frederick faced for naturalization applicants who are serving or who have recently served in the military. It would require the Department of Homeland Security to use the fingerprints provided by military naturalization applicants at the time of their enlistment in the Armed Forces if the applicants were fingerprinted in accordance with DOD requirements, if the naturalization applications are filed within 24 months of enlistment, and if the fingerprints are deemed sufficient by the Department of Homeland Security for naturalization purposes.

The bill would require DHS to inform a member of the armed services applying for naturalization when submitting new fingerprints would result in a more timely and effective adjudication of the naturalization application along with the description of how to submit the new fingerprints.

It would also ensure that the DOD complies with the requirements of this bill so that fingerprints they hold are sent to DHS. It would clarify the time frame in which DHS is required to publicize changes in regulations and forms regarding the naturalization of members of the Armed Forces. And, finally, it would promote accountability by requiring the GAO to report on the naturalization process for Armed Forces members.

Approximately 35,000 lawful permanent residents are currently serving in our Armed Forces. More than 13,000 noncitizen members of the military have applied for U.S. citizenship since 2002.

This is an excellent bill that will help ensure that from now on, American soldiers do not face the kinds of unnecessary and unreasonable hurdles to American citizenship that cost Specialist Frederick his life.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill and would note that this was passed unanimously out of the House Judiciary Committee. I urge my colleagues, again, to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the author of this bill, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), for 5 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I would just close by noting that the mishandling of this application is just infuriating to read through what happened and to have lost this young man who volunteered for our service in such a way is so distressful. But I think we can take a stand by supporting this bill named in Kendell Frederick's honor to make sure this does not happen to another serviceman or servicewoman and also that his family can know that in addition to serving in Iraq, he served as a model for a change in the law and that they may take some comfort with that.

So I urge passage of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

To Chairwoman Lofgren, I want to thank you for your leadership. And certainly to Chairman Conyers and the ranking member and ranking member of the subcommittee, I want to thank all of you for getting this bill to the floor. Finally, I want to thank the professional staff on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration for working so diligently with my staff to bring this legislation again to the floor of the House.

Mr. Speaker, the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act truly is a step towards correcting and honoring our non-citizen servicemembers, many of whom continue to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is appropriate, therefore, that we consider this legislation as we approach Veterans Day, honoring all who have risked their lives to protect our own.

I introduced the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act to ensure that those who are willing to fight relentlessly on the battlefield to protect our great Nation do not have to also battle through a drawn-out citizenship process. Specifically, H.R. 2884 will assist our noncitizen servicemen and -women on the road to citizenship by making the following needed adjustments:

Requiring the United States Department of Homeland Security to use the fingerprints taken by the Defense Department at induction for citizen applications;

Requiring noncitizen military servicemembers to submit their citizenship applications within 24 hours of enlistment;

Requiring the Department of Defense and DHS to determine a single acceptable format for fingerprint submission;

Requiring DHS to update appropriate application forms for naturalization, the instruction and guidebook for obtaining naturalization, and the DHS Web site when naturalization procedures pertaining to members of the Armed Forces are changed; and

Ensuring efficiency and accountability to Congress by requiring the Government Accountability Office to report on DHS's training of personnel, methods and effectiveness in adjudicating applications by members of the Armed Forces.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation honors the memory of a young man from my district, 21-year-old Army Reserve Specialist Kendell K. Frederick. He was a resident of Baltimore County and a native of Trinidad who was stationed in Iraq and died while trying to journey to another post in order to meet the citizenship application fingerprinting requirement. In other words, if he didn't have to go through the changes that he went through, he probably would still be with us today. And one of the interesting things that was mentioned a little bit earlier, he was part of the ROTC process, but he was also a young man, when he entered the military, he entered and made agreement to serve in the military for 8 years. I mean, even knowing that there was a war going on, he bravely said, I want to serve my country. And he claimed this as his country and still went out there and fought, but he wasn't even a citizen yet of our country.

Namely, after trying for more than a year to become a citizen and having his application delayed at least five times due to miscommunication and misinformation in processing his fingerprints, keep in mind the reason why he was killed was he was on his way trying to get his fingerprints done over there in Iraq, Specialist Frederick had no choice but to travel with a convoy to a base to resolve this issue. Unfortunately, he was killed on the way by a roadside bomb, never realizing his dream of becoming an American citizen. And the interesting thing is that he was in the last vehicle of the convoy.

Mr. Speaker, Specialist Frederick embraced a Nation that had failed to fully embrace him by honoring him with citizenship during his lifetime. And it's interesting I think that it was a day or so after he died, then they gave him citizenship. That is why I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 2884 to make certain that no other soldier who wants to be a citizen will have to jump through unnecessary bureaucratic hoops. These outstanding noncitizen soldiers such as Specialist Frederick have made the choice to give voluntarily to our Nation by fighting the terrorist groups that threaten us, putting their lives on the line, sacrificing their blood, their sweat, their tears, and their lives.

I urge my colleagues to please vote in favor of this legislation. I know his mother is watching, and I know that she will be very moved. This is something that has been a long journey for her. And with that, I thank the gentlelady for your courtesy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Specialist Kendell Frederick was a 21-year-old U.S. Army soldier serving in Iraq. He dreamed of becoming an American citizen. He was born in Trinidad and came to this country when he was 15 years old. Specialist Frederick joined ROTC while in high school, and he joined the Army after he graduated.

I want to make the point about how important ROTC is in the recruitment of our military personnel and having that available at the high school and also at the college level. And I reflect, as mention was made in the previous debate about the Purple Heart and George Washington, the historians that I talk to point out to me that George Washington most likely received his commission to command the Continental Army outside the gates of Harvard near the commons. And it's interesting also that the ROTC recruiters aren't allowed on that campus. But they were allowed on the campus that recruited Specialist Kendell Frederick.

On October 19, 2005, very sadly, Kendell Frederick was killed by a roadside bomb while traveling in a convoy to a base. He was granted U.S. citizenship posthumously, but he never knew that he was an American citizen. Tragically, the very reason that he was in the convoy that day was to get fingerprinted in order to achieve his dream of citizenship.

He had been trying to become an American citizen for over a year, having started the process while he was in training. His mother and his sergeant in Iraq tried to help him, but they didn't know the rules. His efforts to become a citizen were thwarted by bureaucratic misinformation and other obstacles.

Although he was fighting for our country in Iraq, he was told that he had to have his fingerprints retaken in Maryland. When his mother called 1-800-IMMIGRATION, a USCIS, that is, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, hotline for immigration assistance and tried to explain that he was fighting in the war and could not come home to Baltimore to be fingerprinted, she was told that there was nothing that they could do. Not a very good answer from a government that has people who put their lives on the line for our freedom.

This is wrong, Mr. Speaker. And it is intolerable that our soldiers are unable to get correct information, particularly with regard to the citizenship that they fight to defend. They should be given every possible assistance in applying for citizenship.

H.R. 2884 provides that a soldier who submits a naturalization application

within 24 months of enlistment can have that application process using the fingerprints that were taken at the time of enlistment. This is a very simple, very commonsense solution, and it's too bad that Congress has to take action on this to get this kind of a thing done, but it is dealt with the kind of compassion for patriotism that I think reflects the Members of this Congress, both sides of the aisle, and the people of this country.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 2884 to honor Specialist Frederick and all of our permanent resident servicemembers who seek citizenship.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker I yield myself such time as I may consume just for a brief conclusion for this.

I want to thank my colleagues for their work on this. I thank the gentleman for coming to the floor to speak up and speak on behalf of Kendell Frederick and the memory and the legacy that he leaves here for us in this country; one of many who stepped forward to defend this country; one of, tragically, too many who lost their lives. And his life has contributed in a number of ways, one of them being the freedom that he helped to protect and the safety and security of the American people, and another, always this legacy of this bureaucratic snafu that will, I pray, forever be straightened out by this bill, the Kendell Frederick bill.

So I urge adoption of this bill, and I thank my colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2516) to assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States citizenship, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 2516, the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistant Act, pays tribute to the memory of 21-year-old Army Reserve Specialist Kendell K. Frederick who was killed in Iraq while attempting to become an American citizen.

Specialist Frederick was born in Trinidad and immigrated to the United States when he was 15 years old to join his mother, stepfather, and two sisters. He attended Randallstown Senior High in Baltimore County, Maryland, where he joined the school's ROTC program. Specialist Frederick enlisted in the Army Reserve in his senior year and was deployed to Iraq in December of 2004.

As he was serving our country, Specialist Frederick sought to apply for U.S. citizenship, yet one bureaucratic hurdle after another delayed his application.

First, the USCIS failed to route his application to the unit that processes naturalization applications for members of the military. The gentleman then rejected his application for failure to pay an application fee even though active military personnel applying for U.S. citizenship are not required to pay that fee.

Next, the agency directed Specialist Frederick to get his fingerprints taken in Maryland despite the obvious fact that he was deployed in Iraq at the time. Besides, he had recently had his fingerprints taken as part of his background check when he enlisted in the Army Reserve.

But when his mother called the agency's help line, she was told that nothing could be done.

Finally, after trying for more than a year to become a U.S. citizen and having his application rejected and delayed as a result of various bureaucratic failings by his own government, Specialist Frederick was forced to travel on a convoy to a base where he could get his fingerprints taken again for his naturalization application.

Tragically, he was killed en route by a roadside bomb. Specialist Frederick was posthumously granted U.S. citizenship a week after his death.

S. 2516 would remove unnecessary procedural hurdles like the ones Specialist Frederick faced for naturalization applications currently or recently serving in the military. Most importantly, it directs Homeland Security to accept fingerprints taken at the time of enlistment as long as they are otherwise acceptable.

The House has already passed legislation similar to S. 2516. It was introduced by Representative Elijah Cummings. It was H.R. 2884, the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Act, and passed the House by voice vote on November 6 of last year. There are a few minor differences between the House-passed bill and the Senate bill, but both accomplish the goal of removing these bureaucratic hurdles to our soldiers becoming U.S. citizens.

Therefore, I ask that my colleagues support the passage of this bill so that we can get the bill to the President and signed into law as quickly as possible.

Approximately 45,000 lawful permanent residents are currently serving in our Armed Forces. More than 35,000 noncitizen members of the military have applied for U.S. citizenship since 2002.

This bill is an excellent measure that will help ensure that from now on American soldiers do not face some unnecessary, unreasonable hurdles to American citizenship that cost Specialist Frederick his life. Much more needs to be done to assist America's soldiers with their hassles with our immigration system. But this bill is a good first step, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Specialist Kendall Frederick was a 21-year-old U.S. Army soldier serving in Iraq who dreamed of becoming an American citizen. He was born in Trinidad and came to this country when he was 15 years old. Specialist Frederick joined ROTC while in high school--and I would point out there are increasing numbers of high schools that have denied ROTC presence on their campus. Not the case for Specialist Frederick and we are thankful.

He joined the Army after he graduated. On October 19, 2005, he was tragically killed by a roadside bomb while traveling in a convoy to a base. He was granted U.S. citizenship posthumously, but he never knew he was an American citizen. Tragically, the very reason that he was in that convoy that day was to get fingerprinted in order to achieve his dream.

We know that Kendell Frederick wanted to be an American citizen but bureaucracy stood in his way. He had been trying to become an American citizen for over a year, Mr. Speaker, having started the process while he was in training.

His mother and his sergeant in Iraq tried to help him, but they didn't know the rules. His efforts to become a citizen were thwarted by bureaucratic misinformation and other obstacles.

While he was fighting for our country in Iraq, he was told that he had to have his fingerprints retaken in Maryland. When his mother called 1-800-IMMIGRATION, it's a USCIS unit, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services hotline for immigration assistance, and tried to explain that he was fighting in a war and was, I should say, tied up at the time, as John McCain might say, he could not come home to Baltimore to be fingerprinted so she was told that there was nothing they could do.

This is wrong and this is intolerable that our soldiers are unable to get correct information, Mr. Speaker. They should be given every possible assistance in applying for citizenship.

Last year, the House passed H.R. 2884 which provides that a soldier who submits a naturalization application within 24 months of enlistment can have that application processed using the fingerprints that were taken at the time of his enlistment. I supported that bill then which was designed to and does honor Specialist Frederick and all of our lawful permanent resident servicemembers.

Today we're considering S. 2516 which is a bill the Senate passed that makes a few technical changes to H.R. 2884. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. It has taken us some time to get this resolved. I trust it will be resolved today in this House, Mr. Speaker, and done so with great gratitude from this Congress and the United States people to Specialist Kendell Frederick and to all of those who have given their lives and parts of their lives and some their limbs for the freedom of this great country.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.