Immigration and Illegal Aliens are More a Blessing than a Burden - Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy,ranking Member, Senate Judiciarycommittee Immigration Subcommitteehearing On "immigrant Contributionsto The U.s. Armed Forces," May 26, 1999

… It has become fashionable for Congress over the last several years to use immigrants as scapegoats and blame them for society's problems. So I am pleased when we focus attention on the many ways in which immigrants have contributed to our country and serve our nation.

According to the Cato Institute, immigrants account for more than 20% of all recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor—the country's highest award for battlefield valor. That is more than 700 immigrants who served this country in time of war and displayed heroism "beyond the call of duty." Many lost their lives or were seriously injured.

Today's witnesses provide further evidence—if evidence is needed—that immigrants share a commitment to defending this nation and are willing, if necessary, to give what Abraham Lincoln called "the last full measure of devotion" in support of America's interests.

As we pay tribute today to our immigrant veterans, we should ask ourselves why we are often so quick to turn our backs on them. Under the immigration "reform" legislation enacted in 1996, Congress passed and the President endorsed a broad expansion of the definition of what makes a legal resident deportable. In the rush to be tough on illegal immigration, the bill also vastly limited relief from deportation and imposed mandatory detention for thousands of permanent residents in deportation proceedings. These harsh new measures have now snared immigrants who spilled their blood for our country. As the INS prepares to deport these American veterans, we have not even been kind enough to thank them for their service with a hearing to listen to their story and consider whether, just possibly, their military service or other life circumstances outweigh the government's interest in deporting them.

Here is the cold and ugly side of our "tough" immigration policies. Here are the human consequences of legislating by thirty-second political ad. Unfortunately the checks and balances of our government have failed these veterans because Congress and this Administration were determined not to be outdone by each other. "Tough" in this case meant blinding the INS to the personal consequences of these people. It meant substituting discretion with a cold rubber stamp that can only say "no."

Just last month, a fifty-two-year-old Vietnam veteran named Gabriel Delgadillo was deported for a crime he committed in 1988. The crime, burglary, was reclassified as a mandatory deportation offense under the 1996 law. Delgadillo left behind a wife and seven children, all U.S. citizens.

Ralph Hesselbach enlisted in the U.S. Army in the summer of 1967, when he was seventeen years old, and fought in active combat in Vietnam. As a scout dog handler with the 33rd Scout Dog Platoon of the 4th Infantry Division, Specialist Hesselbach served as a permanent point man and led scouting missions to uncover mines, trip wires and intercept ambushes. In late 1968, he was severely injured and permanently disabled in an explosion at base camp. He was honorably discharged to medical retirement and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. Hesselbach challenged the retroactive application of the 1996 law, but was ordered deported by an immigration judge. His service and sacrifice got him no consideration whatever.

Rafael Ramirez is a thirty-five-year-old New Yorker who emigrated from the Dominican Republic at the age of seven and who, nine years after his honorable discharge from the Army as a sergeant, faced deportation. His offense: in 1990, just months after leaving the Army, he pled guilty to possessing marijuana.

I brought Sergeant Ramirez's case to the attention of INS Commissioner Meissner, and I was pleased that some semblance of justice was eventually achieved. But in too many cases, the INS maintains that the 1996 law stripped it of any discretion to consider whether military service or other life circumstances may outweigh the government's interest in deportation. We need to ensure that every veteran's case is carefully reviewed by an immigration judge empowered to do justice.

Our national policy on deportation of veterans is particularly disgraceful at a time when we are sending tens of thousands of U.S. servicemen and women, including untold numbers of non-naturalized immigrants, into harm's way in the Balkans. Why on earth has Congress asked the INS to devote its limited resources to hunting down immigrants who previously answered this country's call to duty, some of whom were permanently disabled in the course of their service?

A few weeks ago, I introduced the Fairness to Immigrant Veterans Act of 1999, S.871. This bill would restore for veterans the opportunity to go before an immigration judge to present the equities of their case and to have a federal court review any deportation decision. It would also restore for veterans the opportunity to be released from detention and at home with their families while their case is under consideration.

The injustice addressed by this legislation is just one egregious example of how recent immigration "reform" has resulted in the break-up of American families and the deportation of people who have made significant contributions to our country. This Congress needs to address the broader injustices that the prior one-upmanship caused. In the meantime, as Memorial Day approaches, the Senate should take an important step in the right direction by passing the Fairness to Immigrant Veterans Act.