The September 11th Family Humanitarian Relief and Patriotism Act (H.R. 3290), which was sponsored and reintroduced yesterday by New York Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Peter King, Jerrold Nadler, and Anthony Weiner, would allow a small number of undocumented spouses and children of 9/11 victims to become legal permanent residents. The bill would allow these family members to remain in the United States provided they abide by all rules and regulations governing legal permanent resident status.

“This bill would prevent a very small number of immigrants who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks from suffering the additional tragedy of being removed from the country they call home,” said Rep. Maloney. “We can’t undo the pain these families have had to endure, but we can offer them hope and the opportunity to move forward with their lives. I want to thank Chairman Conyers and especially Subcommittee Chairwoman Lofgren for their tireless support of this important legislation. I also want to thank Congressman Lamar Smith for working with us to resolve some concerns the minority had about the legislation.”

“Many of those lost in 9/11 left behind wives, husbands, and children,” said King. “While we cannot bring back their loved ones or caregivers, we can offer them the hope and opportunity that comes with being an American citizen.”

“Immigrant families who lost loved ones on 9/11 should not be forced to endure the additional pain of being uprooted from their lives here in the United States,” said Nadler. “The least we can do for these families is to allow them to stay where they have built their lives and invested in local communities, both before and after the tragedy. The progress of this legislation is encouraging, and I thank Congresswoman Maloney, Chairman Conyers and Chairwoman Lofgren for their important work on this issue.”

“This is a matter of fairness and a matter of compassion. This small group of family members of 9/11 victims have been in legal limbo since that horrible day. This law won’t heal the wounds, but it will help,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Gary Ackerman, Yvette Clarke, Eliot Engel, and Steve Israel of New York; Reps. Rush Holt and Albio Sires of New Jersey; and Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona.

Maloney, King, and Nadler introduced a previous version of the legislation (H.R. 1071) in 2007. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) also introduced similar legislation (S. 615) in the Senate in the last Congress.

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