Bill Text: NY S08119 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes the staff sergeant Alex R. Jimenez New York state military immigrant family legacy program within the department of veterans' services.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 5-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-06 - SUBSTITUTED BY A8837C [S08119 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08119-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8119--B

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 8, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  FERNANDEZ,  ASHBY,  CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK -- read
          twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
          Committee  on  Veterans,  Homeland  Security  and  Military Affairs --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted  to  said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, and  the  military  law,  in
          relation  to  establishing the Alex R. Jimenez New York state military
          immigrant family legacy program

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  veterans'  services  law  is amended by adding a new
     2  section 29-b to read as follows:
     3    § 29-b. Staff sergeant Alex R.  Jimenez New York state military  immi-
     4  grant  family  legacy  program. 1. For the purposes of this section, the
     5  following terms shall have the following meanings:
     6    (a) "Uniformed service member" shall mean a member of the army,  navy,
     7  air force, space force, marine corps, coast guard, public health service
     8  commissioned  corps,  or national oceanic and atmospheric administration
     9  commissioned officer corps serving on active duty.
    10    (b) "The program" shall mean the staff sergeant Alex R. Jimenez  mili-
    11  tary immigrant family legacy program.
    12    (c) "Liaison" shall mean an employee of the department of state or the
    13  department  designated by the secretary of state or the commissioner, to
    14  serve as a military immigrant family legacy program liaison pursuant  to
    15  subdivision three of this section.
    16    (d)  "Veteran"  shall have the same meaning as such term is defined in
    17  section one of this article and shall also include any  veteran  with  a
    18  qualifying condition, as defined in section one of this article, and has
    19  received  a  discharge  other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such
    20  service, or is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section  one  of
    21  this  article,  and  has  received a discharge other than bad conduct or
    22  dishonorable from such service.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07478-09-4
        S. 8119--B                          2

     1    (e) "Intended recipients" shall mean uniformed service members, veter-
     2  ans, reserve component members and their family members.
     3    (f)  "Reserve  component members" shall mean those serving in the army
     4  reserve, navy reserve, marine corps reserve, the  army  national  guard,
     5  the  air  national  guard, or reserve corps of the public health service
     6  during the time the unit was federally recognized as  a  reserve  compo-
     7  nent.
     8    2.  Establishing  the  staff  sergeant  Alex R. Jimenez New York state
     9  military immigrant family legacy program inside the office for new Amer-
    10  icans and the division of military and naval affairs  and  will  require
    11  the commissioner of the division of military and naval affairs to desig-
    12  nate one or more staff as liaisons to the office for new Americans.  The
    13  office  for  new Americans shall designate one or more staff to be liai-
    14  sons with the division of military and  naval  affairs  to  manage  case
    15  referrals  from  the  division  of military and naval affairs and secure
    16  legal assistance under existing office for new Americans legal  services
    17  for  veterans  and/or  their  families. The liaison shall coordinate and
    18  refer any veteran's need for assistance to legalize their status or  the
    19  status  of the family of a veteran, alive or deceased, to the office for
    20  new Americans. The primary purpose of the program  shall  be  to  assist
    21  intended  recipients  to  secure  legal immigration status in the United
    22  States, including but not limited to, citizenship.
    23    3. Two military immigrant family  legacy  program  liaisons  shall  be
    24  appointed/designated,  one  appointed by the commissioner and one by the
    25  adjutant general of the division  of  military  and  naval  affairs,  to
    26  administer the program. Each liaison shall be a veteran. The liaisons at
    27  the  office  for new Americans, once having received a referral from the
    28  division of military and naval affairs will ensure the following coordi-
    29  nation with immigrant legal service providers:
    30    (a) assisting intended recipients, who may qualify for  adjustment  of
    31  status,  special  immigration status through the federal Parole in Place
    32  program authorized by section 1758 of the 2020 National Defense Authori-
    33  zation Act, or any other sort of immigration  relief,  including  relief
    34  that  can  lead  to  citizenship,  in  securing  legal representation or
    35  consultation by qualified immigration attorneys or duly authorized board
    36  of immigration appeals representatives as may  be  necessary  to  obtain
    37  such relief.
    38    (b)  serving  as  liaison  between  the department and the division of
    39  military and naval affairs, the  United  States  citizenship  and  immi-
    40  gration services, immigration and customs enforcement, the United States
    41  department of veterans affairs, the United States department of defense,
    42  local  veterans'  service  agencies,  state  agencies, community groups,
    43  advocates, and other veterans and military organizations and  interested
    44  parties  for  the purpose of coordinating efforts to provide immigration
    45  relief to intended recipients.
    46    (c) consulting with qualified immigration attorneys or duly authorized
    47  board of immigration appeals approved representatives to facilitate such
    48  coordination with the United States citizenship and immigration services
    49  or other appropriate agency.
    50    (d) advocating for intended recipients.
    51    (e) developing and maintaining a  clearinghouse  for  information  and
    52  resources relating to the program as well as other federal, state, local
    53  and non-profit programs that may offer assistance to intended recipients
    54  in immigration matters.
        S. 8119--B                          3

     1    (f)  promoting  events and activities that educate and assist intended
     2  recipients, including but not limited to, veteran human  rights  confer-
     3  ences, veterans benefit and resources events.
     4    (g)  developing  information  to  be made available to congressionally
     5  chartered veterans' organizations, and local veterans' services agencies
     6  to provide a general overview of the program, including but not  limited
     7  to,  its  purpose  and  the  eligibility  requirements for adjustment of
     8  status, citizenship, or any other form of available relief.
     9    (h) preparing yearly reports on topics, including but not limited  to,
    10  the demographics of intended recipients residing in the state, including
    11  the  number  of  such  intended recipients by county, an estimate of how
    12  many may be eligible for naturalization, and the  unique  needs  of  the
    13  intended recipients within New York state to the commissioner, the adju-
    14  tant  general  of  the  division  of  military and naval affairs and the
    15  office for new Americans.
    16    4. The liaisons shall submit a report to the commissioner and  to  the
    17  governor  and legislature on January first each year following the first
    18  full year after the effective date of this section.  Such  report  shall
    19  include,  but  not  be  limited  to, a description and evaluation of the
    20  liaisons' activities for the preceding calendar  year  as  well  as  any
    21  recommendations  for future programmatic changes. The commissioner shall
    22  submit the report to the governor and the legislature in accordance with
    23  the provisions of section four of this article. The adjutant general  of
    24  the  division  of  military and naval affairs shall submit the report to
    25  the governor and the legislature in accordance with  the  provisions  of
    26  section one hundred sixty-four of the executive law.
    27    §  2.  Section  4 of the veterans' services law is amended by adding a
    28  new subdivision 39 to read as follows:
    29    39. To encourage the development of and provide for the  establishment
    30  of a state military immigrant family legacy program liaison, as provided
    31  in section twenty-nine-b of this article.
    32    §  3.  The military law is amended by adding a new section 256 to read
    33  as follows:
    34    § 256. State military immigrant family  legacy  program  support.  The
    35  adjutant  general shall encourage the development of and provide for the
    36  establishment of a state military immigrant family legacy program  liai-
    37  son, as provided in section twenty-nine-b of the veterans' services law.
    38    § 4.  This act shall take effect on the one hundred fiftieth day after
    39  it shall have become a law.