093_HR0227

 
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 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, More than  31,000  members  of  the  U.S.  armed
 3    forces are not American citizens; and

 4        WHEREAS,  Some  of them have already given their lives in
 5    Iraq defending their adopted homeland; and

 6        WHEREAS, In July of 2002,  President  Bush  announced  an
 7    executive  order making it easier for the families of foreign
 8    nationals killed in combat to apply for citizenship on behalf
 9    of their loved one; and

10        WHEREAS, U.S. Senators Zell Miller (Democrat-Georgia) and
11    Saxby Chambliss (Republican-Georgia)  are  seeking  automatic
12    citizenship   awarded   posthumously   for  all  foreign-born
13    soldiers killed fighting for the United States; and

14        WHEREAS, While the Posthumous Citizen Restoration Act  of
15    2001,   currently   pending  before  Congress,  sponsored  by
16    Congressmen Meehan, McGovern,  and  Frank  of  Massachusetts,
17    grants the benefits of full citizenship posthumously to those
18    members  of  the  United  States  armed  forces who have been
19    killed in the defense of our  nation,  the  same  rights  and
20    benefits   should   likewise  be  extended  to  those  living
21    non-citizens who serve in the United States armed  forces  in
22    defense of our country; and

23        WHEREAS,   Although   joining   the  military  eases  the
24    application process for United States  citizenship,  it  does
25    not result in an automatic grant of citizenship for those who
26    seek citizenship; and

27        WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon our country to acknowledge,
28    not  just  upon  a soldier's death, but also throughout their
29    lives, the debt and gratitude of the American public for  the
30    soldier's service to our nation; therefore, be it
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11569 KEF 14823 r
 1        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 2    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
 3    we  urge  President  George  W.  Bush  and  the United States
 4    Congress to award  immediate  United  States  citizenship  to
 5    every  man  and  woman  serving  in  the  Armed Forces in the
 6    Persian Gulf and to take  steps  necessary  to  award  United
 7    States   citizenship  to  every  man  and  woman  upon  their
 8    favorable discharge from the Armed Forces; and be it further

 9        RESOLVED, That the Illinois Congressional  delegation  is
10    hereby  memorialized  to request that they petition President
11    George W. Bush to expedite any and all actions  that  may  be
12    necessary to accomplish such objectives; and be it further

13        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
14    delivered President George W. Bush and to the members of  the
15    Illinois Congressional delegation.