Emergency Justification Memo

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

January 18, 2021

MEMORANDUM FOR

Sharon Block
Official Performing the Delegated Duties of Administrator,
OIRA
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget

THROUGH:

Eric Hysen
Chief Information Officer
Department of Homeland Security

FROM:

Debra Rogers
Director
Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative
Office of the Secretary
Department of Homeland Security

SUBJECT:

ERIC N
HYSEN

Digitally signed
by ERIC N HYSEN
Date: 2022.01.27
14:59:26 -05'00'

Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Webform Application

This memorandum requests an emergency approval for the collection of information under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigrant
Military Members and Veterans Initiative (IMMVI) Veteran’s Webform. The Webform will
assist DHS in facilitating the return of non-citizen current and former members of the United
States Military and their families who have unjustly been removed from the United States.
These individuals are commonly known as “deported veterans”. The veteran population that this
project would serve is a portion of the public that can accurately be viewed as at particularly high
risk for many health and social welfare issues.
As discussed in greater detail below, use of normal PRA clearance procedures resulting in delay
of this project would be reasonably likely to result in public harm resulting in real world and
potentially far-reaching consequences. Without access to benefits from Veterans Affairs (VA)
that will only become available through the successful identification of “deported veterans”
through this information collection, this population can become susceptible to a variety of
negative health outcomes. Additionally, not returning to the United States limits their access to
the U.S. legal system. This preventable result is even more tragic if the underlying health
conditions are the direct result of honorable service to our Nation and need for legal justice
derives from their desire to share in the services that we traditionally provide to our veterans
honoring that service. Moreover, the effect of further delay on the larger population (tens of
thousands) of noncitizens currently serving in our military and witnessing the treatment of these
veterans is nebulous but could hardly be deemed positive for our national security (i.e., military

morale and recruitment issues are probable, especially for service members concerned about the
immigration status of immediate family members unjustly removed from the country who are
also targeted by the program supported through this information collection request).
Background
On February 2, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14012 (E.O. 12012), Restoring
Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthen Integration and Inclusion Efforts for
New Americans. In response to E.O. 14012, on July 2, 2021, the Secretaries of DHS and the VA
announced a joint initiative, the Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative (IMMVI),
to support our Nation’s noncitizen service members, veterans, and their immediate family
members and directed their departments to identify and prioritize the return of military service
members, veterans, and their immediate family members who were unjustly removed from the
United States and ensure they receive the benefits to which they may be entitled.1
In recognition of the profound commitment and sacrifice that current and former military service
members and their families have made to the United States of America, the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) will accept and consider, on a case-by-case basis, parole requests
from noncitizen service members, veterans and their family members who are outside the United
States under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) so that they may
return to the United States to better avail themselves of U.S. legal counsel and systems and gain
access to certain veterans’ benefits, such as critical medical care. DHS is implementing a
Department-wide and interagency approach to reviewing requests from previously removed
noncitizen service members, veterans, and their family members to support humane and
consistent outcomes.
To carry out the goals of IMMVI, DHS is proposing this new data collection to offer current and
former military members and their families an opportunity and process to seek immediate
assistance from DHS. The purpose of this information collection is to achieve efficiencies in
making contact with these individuals, better understand their needs, and track and report the
number and type of inquiries received. This information will assist DHS in improving access to
the US immigration and legal system, VA benefits and critical medical services. DHS plans to
collect relevant information to provide assistance at the point the individual submits this
information on the new webform and will track the inquiry to final resolution. The information
collected through this public facing webform will be voluntarily provided by the users.
The new Webform hosted on dhs.gov will be established to allow for “deported veterans” to
submit the necessary information to make contact with the government to seek assistance. The
information to be collected for self-disclosure would include: A-Number, Name, Date of Birth,
Country of Birth, Country of Citizenship, Proof of Military Service, Address, Reason for
Requesting Assistance, Name and Contact Information of Representative, if applicable. This
information will be voluntarily provided by individuals seeking assistance from the government.
DHS Press Release, “DHS, VA Announce Initiative to Support Noncitizen Service Members, Veterans, and
Immediate Family Members,” (Jul. 2, 2021) https://www.dhs.gov/news/2021/07/02/dhs-va-announce-initiativesupport-noncitizen-service-members-veterans-and-immediate (accessed Jan. 14, 2022).
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This will be a public facing Webform that allows individuals to submit this information and
receive DHS support throughout the entire process. All information related to the individual’s
request and actions taken by the government will be captured in a DHS case management system
for tracking purposes and appropriate follow through and action.
1. Public Harm is Reasonably Likely to Result if Normal Clearance Procedures are
Followed.
Public harm is very likely to result if this information is not immediately collected. Failure to
have a platform for individuals to self-identify, and to collect their inquiries, will cause delays
and inefficiencies in reviewing and responding to requests. The needs of this population are
many, from the need for urgent life-saving medical care to access the U.S. legal system to pursue
of naturalization and other immigration and legal services. The unique circumstances of each
veteran’s case require extensive inter-governmental coordination and significant engagement
with the veteran or their attorney. Experience demonstrates that this effort will require the
participation of at least four agencies. (DHS, DoD, VA, and DOJ) The need to bring multiple
agency partners together for a common effort often delays the provision of services to the target
population. Following normal PRA clearance procedures could result in delays in any needed
health interventions and other extremely negative outcomes for this target population, immediate
family members of military personnel, the morale of their military colleagues of “deported
veterans” and veteran support community organizations, and even current military personnel
with immediate family members unjustly removed from the country experiencing the wait for
paperwork to catch up with actual need while engaged in active service. On this last point in
particular: placing immediate family members of active-duty personnel in limbo to comply with
normal PRA procedures would almost certainly create public harm to the morale of the military.
The Webform and back-end case management system will provide DHS with the tools needed to
carefully track the progress of each case. DHS does not presently have a clear process to identify
the population of “deported veterans” or track these complex cases and currently relies on the
veterans themselves or their advocates to proactively engage with DHS.2 While IMMVI did
create a dedicated email to assist current and former members of the United States Military and
their families who seek return to the United States, it is not widely known and is an inefficient
way to manage and track cases. If these individuals are not connected to veteran’s support
organizations or have legal counsel, they may not know how to seek assistance from DHS.
Having this Webform will increase public access and awareness and allow DHS to closely
monitor the requests for assistance from receipt to resolution. It will also allow DHS to prioritize
and closely monitor urgent cases where veterans, their family members, or the immediate family
of active-duty personnel are experiencing a life-threatening health issue or are in high risk living
situation.
The Webform will provide an opportunity for DHS to connect veterans, their families, and
immediate family of active-duty personnel to accredited legal and social services, veterans’
benefits experts and U.S. immigration and legal resources. Many veterans who have been
removed from the United States live in poverty, are homeless or are isolated from their families
GAO Report, “Immigration Enforcement, Actions Needed to Better Handle, Identify, and Track Cases Involving
Veterans,” GAO-19-416 (Jun 2019) https://www.gao.gov/pdf/product/699549 (accessed Jan. 14, 2022).
2

and communities. Based upon the experience of these veterans, it is reasonable to assume that
similar hardships face immediate family members of veterans and active-duty military personnel
as well if they are removed.3

The impact of this situation is not limited to a small population of veterans and immediate family
members of veterans and active-duty military personnel. A Government Accountability Report
from June 2019 (Immigration Enforcement: Actions Needed to Better Handle, Identify, and
Track Cases Involving Veterans) cited Department of Defense data to note that between fiscal
years 2013 and 2018, more than 44,000 noncitizens enlisted in the military.4 As also noted in the
same report, this number represents the continuation of an historical trend of noncitizens serving
with honor in our Nation’s armed services. Delay in addressing the problem of deporting
veterans who served in our military has resulted in a spate of understandably negative news
stories about these veterans feeling abandoned by their country (see e.g., Maria Ines Zamudio,
“Deported U.S. Veterans Feel Abandoned by the Country They Defended”, National Public
Radio, June 21, 2019 and other news reports).5 Furthermore, the impact of adding additional
burdens to active-duty military service members concerned about the welfare of their immediate
family after removal creates an obvious public harm that the country should remedy without
delay.
In sum, the “deported veterans” issue raises the possibility of creating additional public harm to
the United States Armed Forces in terms of morale for the larger noncitizen population currently
serving or the sizable number of veterans and immediate family members connected to these
issues if the government takes several months to follow through on the President’s promise to
assist this population. Finally, lack of an immediate remedy through this information collection
could result in recruitment challenges among this population that currently provides tens of
thousands of persons to serve our country or an even larger population eschewing a military
career to help immediate family members unjustly removed from the country.

2. Information is Essential to the Mission of the Agency
As already discussed, there is no uniform way for DHS to receive inquiries from non-citizen
current and former members of the United States Military and their families who have been
removed from the United States. This has caused inconsistent support and public confusion on
ACLU Southern California Website, “Discharged, then Discarded” (Jul. 7, 2016)
https://www.aclusocal.org/en/publications/discharged-then-discarded (accessed Jan. 14, 2022).
4
GAO Report, “Immigration Enforcement, Actions Needed to Better Handle, Identify, and Track Cases Involving
Veterans,” GAO-19-416 (Jun 2019) https://www.gao.gov/pdf/product/699549 (accessed Jan. 14, 2022).
5
Military Times, “'Fighting on All Fronts': Deported US Veterans Cautiously Optimistic Biden Will Bring Them
Home,” (Apr. 10, 2021) https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/10/fighting-all-fronts-deported-us-veteranscautiously-optimistic-biden-will-bring-them-home.html (accessed Jan. 14, 2022); ABC7-Los Angeles, “Lawmakers
meet with deported veterans in Tijuana, Mexico,” (Jun. 6, 2017) https://abc7.com/compton-veteran-deportedveterans-support-house-democrats-congress/2067673/ (accessed Jan. 14, 2022); NYTimes, “Deported Veterans Long
to Return From Exile. Some Will Get the Chance.,” (Jul. 26, 2021)
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/us/deported-immigrants-us-veterans.html (accessed Jan. 14, 2022).
3

how to seek assistance. It is vital that the DHS implement the information collection, as soon as
possible, to make contact and to start assisting “deported veterans” and the immediate family
members of active-duty military personnel if the government seeks to avoid further public harm.
In the case of the “deported veterans” that this information collection would allow DHS to serve,
the situation can be especially dire. Throughout U.S. history, noncitizens have honorably served
in the U.S. Armed Forces. Although most noncitizen service members are eligible to apply for
naturalization, some may not have applied for naturalization or may have been denied
naturalization and became subject to administrative immigration enforcement and removal due to
several possible factors. Allowing certain individuals to return to the United States to apply for
and fully access these benefits will yield a significant public benefit by fulfilling our obligation
to support the men and women who defend our Nation and to care for them and their families.
Due to their service, “deported veterans” are particularly at risk if the Department cannot collect
this information under its immigration mission. Military personnel are commonly exposed to
health-harming conditions during their service, resulting in higher rates of physical and mental
health conditions compared with the general population. Studies have shown that military
veterans report higher rates of many health conditions compared with the general population,
including physical health symptoms (e.g., pain, fatigue), chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes),
mental health disorders (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression) and harmful
substance use. In many cases, barring a former service member from entering the United States
limits their access to VA health services to which they may otherwise be entitled. Availability of
and access to healthcare while living outside of the United States may be limited for reasons
including barriers to enrolling in public insurance plans, challenges navigating unfamiliar health
systems, and stigma and discrimination towards deported former service members. Additionally,
quality of available care may be sub-optimal due to limited expertise in service-related health
issues and lack of evidence-based treatment for some health conditions (e.g., substance
abuse/dependence).6 As the Nation’s foremost government agency in the immigration arena,
DHS has a special role to play in immediately stopping or mitigating these outcomes through the
proposed program that will rely upon this information collection.
A consideration of parole for noncitizen current and former military service members generally
would provide a significant public benefit to the United States by recognizing the profound
commitment and sacrifice that military service members and their families have made to the
United States. This action promotes family unity among military service members and assists
former military service members who may be eligible for naturalization or other immigration
benefits or post-conviction relief. In certain cases, there may be an urgent reason to permit
former service members to return to the United States to receive critical, life-saving medical
treatment at a VA health facility, including care for physical and mental health conditions arising
from their service, that may only be available in the United States.

3. Paperwork Reduction Act Timeframes
6

Horyniak D, Bojorquez I, Armenta RF, Davidson PJ. Deportation of non-citizen military veterans: A critical
analysis of implications for the right to health. Glob Public Health. 2018 Oct;13(10):1369-1381. doi:
10.1080/17441692.2017.1413123. Epub 2017 Dec 15. PMID: 29243564; PMCID: PMC6561474.

The Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative has been tasked by the DHS Secretary
and the VA Secretary to provide better access to current and former members of the United
States Military and their families who seek return to the United States. Through the initiative’s
public engagement efforts, DHS has found that many veterans who are living outside the United
States have an urgent, time-sensitive need to return for reasons described above. Since IMMVI
was announced veteran support groups and advocates have formed a coalition in support of
“deported veterans” and began sharing information on individuals who are in need of immediate
DHS and VA assistance. As of December 2021, the coalition identified over 200 current and
former members of the US military in need of immediate assistance. This number does not
include immediate family members. These veterans are already connected with legal advocates
and veteran support groups.
There are many more veterans in need of assistance that have not been identified. The veterans,
and the community and legal organizations that support them, are eagerly awaiting the launch of
the Webform to have their cases reviewed by DHS. Delaying implementation of this important
information collection until after DHS has completed the PRA process would delay critical, lifechanging support and erode public confidence in DHS’s commitment to provide support for
current and former US military members and their families. Put another way, when weighing the
paperwork burden imposed upon the population that will actually be filling out the Webform
against negative health outcomes for “deported veterans”, morale issues concerning removal of
immediate family members among active-duty military personnel, and intangible negative
impacts for morale and recruitment for the military as a whole, the balance should be in favor of
mitigating these public harms. There is a reason why the PRA allows OMB to grant emergency
clearance when “public harm is reasonably likely to result if normal clearance procedures are
followed” and the rationale for the exception clearly applies to the immediate need for this
information collection.
While the initiative was launched in July 2021, an appropriate technical solution for IMMVI was
not identified until November 2021. From August 2021 through October 2021, DHS was in
discussions and engaged in discovery sessions with the DHS CIO, USCIS IMMVI Technical
leads, and stakeholders to consider the best, most expeditious, solution to serve these veterans
and their families. The design and development effort for this project began just before the
Thanksgiving holidays with an 8-week timeline for delivery. The entire team -- DHS, USCIS,
and the vendor -- have been on an accelerated timeline to launch the project by January 28th,
2022. This includes confirming the information needed for the collection, understanding the
capabilities and limits of the system being used, completing user acceptance testing, and
fulfilling the requirements for the PRA and Privacy.
The DHS team are submitting this emergency request with the details for the collection
confirmed. We appreciate OIRA's response to this accelerated timeline for delivery and
approving the emergency request.
4. Conclusion

This request for an emergency approval for the collection of new information to successfully
assist current and former U.S. service members and their families is in the public interest given
the profound commitment and sacrifice these service members and their families have made in
support of our Nation and their urgent need for support.
As Director of the Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative, I certify that this request
meets the requirements of 5 C.F.R 1320.13(a) and it is vital that this new collection of
information be implemented immediately because: (1) this information is essential to the mission
of the Agency, (2) this information is necessary prior to the timeframes established under the
PRA, and (3) public harm will result if normal clearance procedures are followed.
Thank you for your consideration.
Upon approval and after implementation of the information collection process, DHS will address
public comments as necessary under the normal PRA approval process.