On Friday, July 2, 2021, the Biden administration revealed plans to bring hundreds, and potentially thousands, of deported veterans and their immediate family members back to the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is ordering DHS to halt pending deportations against veterans and their immediate relatives in the U.S., effective immediately. He is also urging immigration agencies to take steps to ensure deported veterans and their families may return to the United States.
DHS will work with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Defense Department, to ensure that veterans are able to access their benefits, such as healthcare, from overseas, while establishing a Military Resource Center with information to help these veterans with their immigration applications and their reentries to the United States.
According to Secretary Mayorkas,
“The Department of Homeland Security recognizes the profound commitment and sacrifice that service members and their families have made to the United States of America. We are committed to bringing back military service members, veterans, and their immediate family members who were unjustly removed and ensuring they receive the benefits to which they may be entitled.”
Knudson & Associates will be closely following these developments in the months to come.