Why block citizenship to immigrants who defend America?
In 2012, after serving in the federal immigration enforcement bureaucracy for more than 15 years, I learned from personal experience the difficulty faced by immigrants who enlist in our military but are blocked from citizenship.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, created in 2012 by the secretary of Homeland Security, was not to slow down the process for anyone entering the United States legally, according to President Obama. Yet, to illustrate what actually happened to many immigrants: If, upon concluding a shopping trip, one encounters 730,000 people cutting in line at the cash register, it cannot be said that there is no impact on one’s shopping trip.
Those “line cutters” sought work permits from the same staff who processed the immigration visas. This delayed the entry of my son, whom I later adopted and who now is a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve.
After a delay of two and a half years, he enlisted in February 2016. Because he was a permanent resident “green card” holder, he had to be vetted to ensure he was not a threat to national security; this took over a year. He finally went to basic training in February 2017. He was promised citizenship upon completion of basic training.
While my son, already vetted by the federal government, was in basic training fulfilling the oath he had taken, Secretary of Defense James Mattis halted the grant of citizenship to enlistees until his staff could ascertain if there was any national security issue associated with their presence. (The U.S. military has non-citizens in its ranks; they are not allowed to enlist in specialties that require a security clearance but can serve in other roles, such as in logistics.)
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https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/432749-why-block-citizenship-to-immigrants-who-defend-america
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