PROTECT Military Families Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6958 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6958

 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the Secretary
of Homeland Security to parole into the United States certain relatives
   of current and former members of the Armed Forces, and for other
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 2026

 Mr. Cisneros (for himself and Mr. Carbajal) introduced the following
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the Secretary
of Homeland Security to parole into the United States certain relatives
   of current and former members of the Armed Forces, and for other
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Parole Relief Offering Troops
Expedited Compassionate Treatment of Military Families Act'' or as the
``PROTECT Military Families Act''.

SEC. 2. PAROLE FOR CERTAIN RELATIVES OF CURRENT AND FORMER MEMBERS OF
              THE ARMED FORCES.

    Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(d)(5)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subparagraph (B)
        or'' and inserting ``subparagraphs (B) and (C) and'';
            (2) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term
        appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(C)(i) Except as provided in clause (iii), the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall parole into the United States an alien who is
the spouse, widow or widower, parent, or child of--
            ``(I) a member of the Armed Forces on active duty;
            ``(II) a member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready
        Reserve; or
            ``(III) an individual, whether living or deceased, who--
                    ``(aa) previously served as--
                            ``(AA) a member of the Armed Forces on
                        active duty; or
                            ``(BB) a member of the Selected Reserve of
                        the Ready Reserve; and
                    ``(bb) was discharged or released from such service
                under a condition other than dishonorable.
    ``(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall parole an alien
into the United States under clause (i) in 1-year increments.
    ``(iii)(I) An application for parole under this subparagraph may be
denied only if the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of
Defense, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs jointly issue a written
justification for the denial.
    ``(II) The Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of
Defense, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not delegate the
responsibility described in subclause (I).
    ``(III)(aa) In the case of a denial under subclause (I), the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish on a publicly available
internet website of the Department of Homeland Security information
about the denial, including a detailed justification for the denial.
    ``(bb) Information published under item (aa) shall not include
personally identifiable information.''.
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