{"id":24269,"date":"2021-03-12T13:39:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T18:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=24269"},"modified":"2021-03-12T13:39:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T18:39:52","slug":"house-bill-eases-bar-drug-users-naturalization-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2021\/03\/12\/house-bill-eases-bar-drug-users-naturalization-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Introduced Giving Alcoholics and Drug Users an Easier Path to Naturalization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) introduced H.R. 1614<\/a>, a bill that would give immigrant alcoholics and drug users an easier path to naturalization. Under current law, \u201chabitual drunkards\u201d and drug convictions hinder the ability of immigrants to become full citizens through naturalization. Rep. Boyle\u2019s bill aims to change that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill will \u201camend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that marijuana use, possession, and distribution may not be considered for determinations of whether a person is a person of good moral character.\u201d In a press release<\/a>, Boyle said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These questions are wholly unrelated to citizenship, and only serve to\nreinforce societal stigmas connected to alcohol and substance abuse. It is\nextremely troubling to see federal applications like this that continue to use\na harsh and antiquated term such as \u2018habitual drunkard\u2019. Moreover, prospective\ncitizens should not be penalized for relatively harmless and non-criminal\noffenses. This careless language only serves to reinforce societal stigmas and\nmisunderstandings about substance abuse, and it is time we modernize the\nprocess.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. citizenship is one of the most\nsought-after statuses in the world. It provides innumerable privileges and\nrights in the U.S. that other statuses – including legal permanent residence –\nsimply do not. Plainly stated, American citizenship is a big deal. And that is\nwhy there are \u201cmoral\u201d requirements. They are pretty basic, and they are easily\nmet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Boyle\u2019s bill specifically prevents\nmarijuana offenses from negatively impacting an alien\u2019s naturalization status.\nWhile social norms concerning marijuana have certainly changed since 1965, it\nremains a Schedule I drug. Many states currently allow the recreational\npurchase and use of marijuana even though it is technically illegal under\nFederal law. It is a ridiculous situation, but until Congress – which Rep.\nBoyle is a voting member of – changes the drug laws regarding marijuana it\nremains a federal crime. Aliens with histories of misdemeanor and felony drug\nconvictions reflect criminality, and Citizenship and Immigration Services\n(USCIS) is right to take that into consideration when weighing whether to\nnaturalize a green card holder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201chabitual drunkard\u201d language is obviously a different story. There is no standard definition for a \u201chabitual drunkard,\u201d and so this language creates a situation where USCIS staff interpret different situations differently. Rather than removing this from the naturalization requirements, USCIS should simply update it to include drunk-driving related offenses, which are a national problem. Deaths from drunk driving are a terrible thing. Many of the Angel Families<\/a> – relatives of people killed by illegal aliens – lost their family members because of drunk driving incidents by illegal aliens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a misguided bill that does nothing to improve our immigration system or benefit American citizens. Instead, it proposes lowering the bar for citizenship, when we really ought to raise that bar even higher to reflect and honor the importance of American citizenship. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) introduced H.R. 1614, a bill that would give immigrant alcoholics and drug users an easier path to naturalization. Under current law, \u201chabitual drunkards\u201d and drug convictions hinder the ability of immigrants to become full citizens through naturalization. Rep. Boyle\u2019s bill aims to change that. The bill will \u201camend the Immigration and<\/p>\n

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