December 2, 2019

Dear Member of Congress:

We write in support of the Kerrie Orozco First Responders Family Support Act (H.R. 2378), a bill that would help the families of public safety officers who die in the line of duty. A very similar bill (H.R. 6580) passed the House of Representatives in September 2018 but did not receive a Senate vote before the end of the 115th Congress. The bill was re-introduced in the House on April 29, 2019, by Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) with original co-sponsors from both parties. We encourage you to support the Kerrie Orozco Act and pass this bipartisan bill in both the House and Senate.

H.R. 2378 would allow a surviving spouse, child or parent of a U.S. citizen public safety officer who died in service or as a result of their service to apply for U.S. citizenship more quickly by waiving the five-year continuous residence and the 30-month physical presence requirements for naturalization. The bill requires that the surviving spouse, child or parent still meet all other requirements for naturalization, such as being a lawful permanent resident, having good moral character, and being able to read, write, and speak in English.

The bill is named after fallen Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco, a seven-year veteran of the department killed in the line of duty in 2015. Her husband, Hector Orozco, became a single father, while also facing a wait time of five years before he could apply for U.S. citizenship.

As law enforcement leaders, we support the Kerrie Orozco Act because it recognizes the sacrifice that families of public safety officers make when a spouse, child or parent dies in service to his or her community. Patterned after legal provisions that allow members of Gold Star Families to naturalize after the death of active-duty service members killed in military service, this bill would aid the families of those who sacrifice their lives in the line of duty, allowing them to find stability and permanence at a particularly difficult time.

We encourage you to support the bipartisan Kerrie Orozco First Responders Family Support Act and pass H.R. 2378.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Sheriff Margaret Mims, LEITF Co-Chair
Fresno County, CA

Chief Art Acevedo, LEITF Co-Chair
Houston, TX

Chief Carmen Best, LEITF Co-Chair
Seattle, WA

Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA)

Executive Director Chuck Wexler
Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)

Lt. Andy Norris, Retired
Tuscaloosa, AL

Chief Hayes Minor
Rogers, AR

Chief Ramon Batista, Retired
Mesa, AZ

Chief Roy Bermudez
Nogales, AZ

Sheriff Tony Estrada
Santa Cruz County, AZ

Chief Chris Magnus
Tucson, AZ

Chief Sylvia Moir
Tempe, AZ

Chief Mike Soelberg
Gilbert, AZ

Chief Steve Stahl
Maricopa, AZ

Chief Michel R. Moore
Los Angeles, CA

Chief Robert N. Sharpnack
Costa Mesa, CA

Chief David Valentin
Santa Ana, CA

Sheriff Joe DiSalvo
Pitkin County, CO

Chief Dwight Henninger
Vail, CO

Chief Nick Metz
Aurora, CO

Chief Peter Newsham
Washington, DC

Chief Frank Adderley
West Palm Beach, FL

Chief Jorge Colina
Miami, FL

Sheriff John Mina
Orange County, FL

Chief Orlando Rolon
Orlando, FL

Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald
Story County, IA

Chief Wayne Jerman
Cedar Rapids, IA

Director of Public Safety Mark Prosser
Storm Lake, IA

Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek
Johnson County, IA

Sheriff Kevin Schneider
Polk County, IA

Chief Mike Tupper
Marshalltown, IA

Chief William Bones, Retired
Boise, ID

Chief Eric Foster
Buhl, ID

Chief Dan Hall
Jerome, ID

Chief Cliff Katona, Retired
Shoshone, ID

Chief Craig Kingsbury
Twin Falls, ID

Sheriff John Idleburg
Lake County, IL

Chief Wayne Walles
Waukegan, IL

Chief Michael Diekhoff
Bloomington, IN

Chief Scott Ruszkowski
South Bend, IN

Chief Ron Teachman, Retired
South Bend, IN

Chief James Hawkins, Retired
Garden City, KS

Chief Brian Kyes
Chelsea, MA

Sheriff Peter Koutoujian
Middlesex County, MA

Commissioner Branville G. Bard, Jr.
Cambridge, MA

Commissioner William Gross
Boston, MA

Commissioner Michael S. Harrison
Baltimore, MD

Chief J. Thomas Manger, Retired
Montgomery County, MD

Sheriff Kevin Joyce
Cumberland County, ME

Sheriff Jerry Clayton
Washtenaw County, MI

Chief Ron Haddad
Dearborn, MI

Chief Todd Axtell
Saint Paul, MN

Chief Christopher C. Blue
Chapel Hill, NC

Chief Jose Lopez, Retired
Durham, NC

Chief Richard Biehl
Dayton, OH

Chief Cel Rivera
Lorain, OH

Commissioner Richard Ross, Retired
Philadelphia, PA

Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare
Providence, RI

Chief William Holbrook
Columbia, SC

Chief Joseph Hill
Horry County, SC

Sheriff Leon Lott
Richland County, SC

Chief Fred Fletcher, Retired
Chattanooga, TN

Sheriff Marian Brown
Dallas County, TX

Chief Frank Dixon
Denton, TX

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
Harris County, TX

Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra
Hidalgo County, TX

Chief Andy Harvey, Interim
Ennis, TX

Sheriff Sally Hernandez
Travis County, TX

Chief Mike Kester
Harlingen, TX

Chief Brian Manley
Austin, TX

Chief Victor Rodriguez
McAllen, TX

Chief Claudio Treviño, Jr.
Laredo, TX

Chief Mike Brown
Salt Lake City, UT

Chief Chris Burbank, Retired/FBI National Executive Institute Associates President
Salt Lake City, UT

Sheriff Dana Lawhorne
Alexandria, VA

Chief Maggie A. DeBoard
Herndon, VA

Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht
King County, WA

Chief Steve Mylett
Bellevue, WA

Chief Michael Koval, Retired
Madison, WI

Sheriff David J. Mahoney
Dane County, WI

*Signatures updated as of December 2, 2019 10 am ET*

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