Res. No. 1565
Resolution calling on the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign H.R. 2638/S. 1109, known as the "Military Families Act," which would allow the parents, children, and spouses of members of the Armed Forces to obtain lawful permanent residency and would abolish numerical limitations for immigrant visas for Filipino sons and daughters of parents who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990.
By Council Members Dromm, Eugene, Brewer, Chin, Dilan, Ferreras, Fidler, James, Koo, Lander, Williams and Rodriguez
Whereas, According to the 2010 United States Census, more than a third of all residents of New York City, approximately three million people, are foreign born, representing countries throughout the world; and
Whereas, According to a report by the Immigration Policy Center, entitled Immigrants in the Military Eight Years After 9/11, as of 2009, nationally, more than 100,000 immigrants were in active duty in the United States Armed Forces; and
Whereas, Furthermore, of those 100,000 immigrants, approximately 12 percent were undocumented; and
Whereas, According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, members of the United States Armed Forces include those serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, certain Reserve components of the National Guard, or the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; and
Whereas, Thousands of immigrants join the United States Armed Forces each year, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations across the globe; and
Whereas, On May 26, 2011, Senator Robert Menendez introduced S.1109/H.R.2638, known as the "Military Families Act," which would authorize the adjustment of status for immediate family members of individuals who served honorably in the United States Armed Forces during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars; and
Whereas, The bill seeks to "amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust the status of an eligible immigrant to that of an immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the immigrant: (i) applies for adjustment; (ii) is admissible to the United States as an immigrant; and (iii) is physically present in the United States"; and
Whereas, Additionally, the bill applies to immigrants who are a parent, spouse, child, or the legal guardian of a child of a living Armed Forces member or of a deceased Armed Forces member who died as a result of service-incurred injury or disease; and
Whereas, Also, this bill creates several exceptions to allow immigrants to apply for permanent residency where, under current immigration laws, they would not be eligible; and
Whereas, Furthermore, the bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from numerical limitations on immigrant visas the sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 or other specified federal law; and
Whereas, If enacted, the Military Families Act would allow the parents, children, and spouses of members of the Armed Forces who have served overseas to obtain lawful permanent residency; and
Whereas, Such a bill would be of great assistance to many undocumented immigrants in New York City and beyond, especially in the absence of federal immigration reform; and
Whereas, Those who have served nobly and sacrificed for our nation should not live in fear that their families may be deported; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign H.R. 2638/S. 1109, known as the "Military Families Act," which would allow the parents, children, and spouses of members of the Armed Forces, who have served this great country, to obtain lawful permanent residency and would abolish numerical limitations for immigrant visas for Filipino children of parents who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990.
JSM
LS# 3899
10/18/2012