Gallego Supports Bills to Protect Servicemembers and Veterans from Deportation

WASHINGTON - Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a Marine combat Veteran and member of the Senate Veterans Affairs committee, supported a package of bills that would prohibit the deportation of immigrant veterans who are not violent offenders, provide these veterans with a pathway to citizenship through their military service and help ensure they can access the VA healthcare services they are entitled to.

"I fought in Iraq, and I know that on the battlefield, what matters isn't whether you have the right papers, it's whether you're willing to put on the uniform and risk your life for this country. If you're willing to do that, you deserve a clear, fair path to citizenship," said Senator Gallego. "Donald Trump has never served a day in his life, and he'll never understand what it means to sacrifice for this country. Yet he's targeting immigrant servicemembers and veterans who have already risked everything to protect our freedoms. These bills will make it easier for immigrant veterans to become citizens, prevent them from deportation and ensure they can access the VA healthcare they rightfully earned."

Senator Gallego supported the following bills to remove barriers to citizenship and healthcare for servicemembers and veterans that were re-introduced earlier this week:

• The Veterans Visa and Protection Act would prohibit the deportation of veterans who are not violent offenders, establish a visa program through which deported veterans may enter the U.S. as legal permanent residents to become naturalized citizens through military service and extend military and veterans benefits to those who would be eligible for those benefits if they were not deported.
• The Healthcare Opportunities for Patriots in Exile (HOPE) Act would allow non-violent, deported Veterans the opportunity to enter the United States to seek care from a VA facility that they earned through their service.
• The Immigrant Veterans Eligibility Tracking System (I-VETS) Act would identify non-citizens who are currently serving or who have served in the armed forces when they are applying for immigration benefits or when placed in immigration enforcement proceedings.

Once a veteran is deported, they are usually unable to access the full VA benefits they have earned and would receive if they were still living in the United States. Many have trouble accessing even basic medical care, even though veterans struggle with higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and physical health problems like chronic pain than the general population.

In July, Senators Gallego and John Fetterman (D-PA) reintroduced the Fight for the American Dream Act, which allows participants of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to serve in the United States military and provides them a pathway toward U.S. citizenship after their service. Senator Gallego also introduced the bill as a member of the House. In September, Senator Gallego urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to open an investigation into the Trump administration's arrest, detention and deportation of non-citizen servicemembers, veterans and military families, which goes against decades of precedent and long-standing DHS policy.

11/17/25