Three Republicans join all Democrats to Pass Amnesty Under the Guise of Supporting the Military

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7946, the Veteran Service Recognition Act, a deceptively titled immigration bill that does nothing to address the Biden border crisis and offers amnesty to the families of alien service members. Three Republicans – Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Maria Salazar (R-Fla.), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) – joined all Democrats in support of the bill. FAIR opposed this legislation and considers this a key vote that will be used to produce a forthcoming 117th Congress report card.

While FAIR honors the heroic sacrifices of military members and veterans, their service doesn’t absolve them of criminal behavior. Yet this bill would empower Alejandro Mayorkas – architect of the border crisis raging over the last two years – to cancel removal orders of alien service members who committed violent crimes, grant them a green card, and unilaterally declare they have the “good moral character” necessary to become citizens. This makes a mockery of established due-process through the immigration courts.

The bill also extends amnesty to service members’ relatives even if they have never served a day in their lives. Any amnesty push in the current climate will act as a stronger magnet for illegal immigration across the wide-open southern border. This is why FAIR and other groups wrote a letter to Congressional leadership on December 1 urging them to “take all actions necessary” to stop any attempt at amnesty or increased immigration during the lame-duck session. With today’s vote, attention turns to the Senate, where we call on sensible Senators of both parties to simply refuse consideration of such poison-pill legislation as H.R. 7946.