Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act

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.

Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Mikulski's commitment to helping those dedicated men and women who are not yet U.S. citizens but who have served all Americans as members of the Armed Forces. Easing the path to citizenship by removing duplicative procedures for these dedicated men and women is the right thing to do, and I am glad to support Senator Mikulski's efforts.

However, I also wish to note my concern with inclusion of language in the bill, at the administration's behest, that appears to anticipate a future expansion of the collection of biometric information from individuals who seek to become naturalized citizens or who seek other immigration benefits. In light of the purpose of Senator Mikulski's bill, which is to streamline the naturalization procedures for legal permanent residents serving in the military, it would make little sense to place additional obstacles in the path of those who have made the ultimate commitment to the United States.

I also register this concern to make clear that the language in this bill with respect to biometric information should in no way be misconstrued as authority for the administration to unilaterally expand the type of biometric information beyond what is currently required to obtain immigration benefits from the U.S. government. Federal immigration law is the province of the Congress, and Congress retains the sole power to determine the extent of rulemaking authority afforded to Federal immigration agencies. The involvement of Congress in these decisions is crucial to ensure that the procedures by which we admit or deny individuals entry to the United States take into account the interests of privacy, and are faithful to the welcoming traditions by which our nation has prospered. Only Congress can provide the deliberative, democratic process necessary to ensure that any future requirements are consistent with American values.

We all recognize the need for robust security at our borders. But over the last 7 years, the reputation of the United States as a welcoming nation has been diminished as a result of often misguided policies that take a reactionary, blunt, and hostile approach to immigration. The administration has met its failure to enact meaningful immigration reform with layer upon layer of security initiatives that in some cases do little more than foreclose the promise of our great Nation for so many who seek opportunity, advancement, or refuge. America's security now and in the future demands more than border walls and punitive, enforcement-only immigration policies. Our future security, as well as our future prosperity, depends upon the balance that has been absent for so long.

I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 2516 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the Mikulski substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate and any statements be printed in the Record.