I am very pleased to cosponsor this bill, which will promote the twin goals of keeping families together and promoting adoption. This bill permits American citizens to adopt 16- and 17-year-old children and bring them to this country, provided that they are also adopting those children’s younger siblings. Under existing law, children 16 and older are ineligible to come to America even if they are adopted by American parents, and even if they have brothers and sisters who are younger than 16 and are thus welcome to live here. This policy means that a 14-year-old child in another country may have to choose between being adopted by American parents or staying with a 16-year-old sibling who would be left behind. This bill will prevent adoptive parents and children from facing such terrible decisions.

Sadly, this flaw in existing law is just one example of the many instances where our immigration laws disregard the needs of families. I call upon the Committee to also turn its attention to the anti-family provisions contained in the immigration laws Congress passed in 1996. In particular, I would like this Committee to consider and approve the Fairness to Immigrant Veterans Act, which I introduced earlier in this session.

The Fairness to Immigrant Veterans Act would guarantee that U.S. veterans receive due process before being removed from the country due to a past criminal offense. Under current law, legal U.S. residents who have committed relatively minor crimes in the past are subject to automatic removal from the country, without even the benefit of a hearing. This policy also breaks families apart, as parents are separated from their American citizen children, husbands and wives separated from their American citizen spouses.

There are many veterans facing deportation under this new law, many to countries where they have not lived since they were small children. Many of those veterans committed minor offenses many years ago and now live productive lives. Now is the time to give these veterans the opportunity they have earned through their military service – the opportunity to convince an impartial judge that they should be allowed to remain in our country. This is the very least we can do to repay them for their sacrifices.

My bill has received the support of the American Legion, AMVETS, the Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Blinded American Veterans. I urge the members of this Committee to give this issue their attention and support, and to give our veterans the due process that they deserve.