The US Army frees immigrant recruits who have been promised citizenship: NPR

Panshu Zhao moved to the United States to China about eight years ago to study. It was the culmination of a dream of a lifetime.

Since then, he has obtained a graduate degree and is currently pursuing a PhD in Geography at Texas A & M University. In describing his life to NPR's Steve Inskeep on Friday, he divided it into two parts: His life in China and his American life.

This includes regular attendance at a Christian church and deep respect for the army. In 2016, he enlisted and served in the Army Reserve while waiting for full – time training orders.

But Zhao was recently found among dozens of immigrant recruits who joined the army through a special program from the Department of Defense. promising an accelerated path to citizenship, but then suddenly discharged with little or no explanation.

According to the Associated Press, about 40 recruits – reservists and active duty recruits, all in the country legally – were waiting years to be licensed for duty before they were told in recent weeks that 39, they are not eligible to serve in the US Army. For many, rejection has thrown their immigration status into limbo.

"It's a complete disaster," Zhao told NPR.

The devastating news was delivered by his recruiter who told him that Zhao

He said the recruiter [traduction] "told me that I could no longer be a soldier without telling me precisely why and not even give me the slightest chance of appeal. "

The Pentagon denied any policy changes. In a statement Friday, Cynthia O. Smith, a spokeswoman for the Army Department, said all recruits are required to "undergo a relevancy review as part of the military accessions process." "and that one aspect of this review is a security check. 19659008] A non-US recruit who receives "unfavorable security screening is considered unfit for military service and is discharged administratively," the statement said.

Among the qualities that could render inadmissible a registered candidate in the program are a criminal record, dishonesty or questions about the character.

million. Smith said the length of the exams varies and depends on the "individualized review of each recruit" and its "unique past".

Recently released immigrants have all signed under the Vital Military Agreement National Interest, or MAVNI program. It was created in 2009 to create an opportunity for the military to enlist people with specialized knowledge, including highly sought after language and medical skills.

Registered persons had to reside legally in the United States, for example under a student visa, or apply for asylum, but could not hold a green card. Enlistment allowed them to quickly access citizenship, sometimes even before starting basic training.

In the last nine years, approximately 10,400 service members born abroad have joined the military through the program. But more and more security checks were added, hundreds of entrants were stuck in purgatory. .

The MAVNI program has had a troubled history almost from the beginning. It was suspended shortly after its launch in 2009, following the shooting in Fort Hood, Texas. Before the authorities discovered that Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a member of the US Army, was behind the massacre, the authorities feared the risk of an insider threat born abroad in the ranks. This eventually led to more rigorous security checks when the program was reinstated in 2012.

Legislators later opposed when it was extended to recipients of the deferred share program for the arrivals of 39, children (DACA) in 2014.

In 2016, in the wake of a "classified evaluation that indicated that she was vulnerable to unacceptable levels of risk, such as terrorism and terrorism." espionage, "Maj Carla Gleason, Pentagon spokeswoman, told NPR in an interview. But, due to an error of treatment, officials sought and obtained a one – year extension during which new hires could still apply. This expired in September 2017. Since then, the program has been closed while officials continue to work to complete all remaining security assessments.

In October 2017, the Pentagon changed the policy of naturalization of troops enlisted by the MAVNI. Prior to that, the hires could apply for citizenship a few days before the basic training and before a full security check. Now the staff must serve honorably for 180 days and full screening must be approved.

Gleason stated that "in April 2018, about 1,100 people who signed contracts, but had not gone to basic training" were in the pipeline. delayed entry.

There is no deadline for the processing of security controls, according to Gleason, and she is not aware of the intention to reinstate the MAVNI program for the time being. But she added, "The skills that made this program valuable are skills that remain necessary to the military. We are a diverse force that needs cultural and linguistic diversity."

The dismissal of recruits and immigrant reservists comes at a time when the army needs more soldiers. And the booming economy makes it difficult to find those who agree to sign up.

This year, the Army said it needed 76,000 recruits to fill its ranks. That's 16,000 more than last year.

Adding to the challenge, about 70 percent of youths are not qualified for military service because of criminal convictions, or failure to meet academic or physical requirements.

So the army is obliged to give derogations to recruits In comparison, a 2017 RAND study revealed that MAVNI recruits "have a number of characteristics associated with better performance, including l & # 39; age. " The study also said that they have higher education levels and higher qualification test scores of the armed forces.

The Military Times estimates that the "approximately 1,000 participants" still waiting to be released will likely be released from their contracts

Meanwhile, for men and women with expiring visas, their chances of to become naturalized citizens are diminishing, told the NPR reserve lieutenant-colonel of the Margaret Stock Reserve Army

. "Stock," said Stock, who has been contacted by several discouraged and confused MAVNI recruits who have been "administratively discharged" over the past two years. months, helped create the program. She argues that the series of refusal notices – either by phone, email, text or letter – by the DOD is the department's solution to an onerous auditing process and the program as a whole.

"They ordered a whole series of checks and they do not have the capacity or the resources to do them, so the solution is," Get rid of these people because it's too difficult to treat them, "said Mr. Stock

. help to say that they were not told why they were rejected, and they only received a concise explanation of the "national security reasons" of the officials. And they have no way to appeal to the process, so they seek legal advice from Stock. She is now a lawyer in immigration law

. She argues that the military violates its own regulations, which state that when a person is released because of the security investigation, she must be notified and have the opportunity to challenge the findings.

Last week Lucas Calixto, a Brazilian national, filed a lawsuit against the army alleging that he had been eliminated from the MAVNI for "personnel security reasons". He asks for a chance to defend himself.

NPR interviewed a reservist who filed an application under the Freedom of Information Act and received documentation indicating the reasons for his release. He asked not to be identified by his name but provided the documents to NPR

In these documents, the Army lists seven categories to dismiss someone, including financial ties, loyalty, criminals and foreigners

. foreign links made it inadmissible to the MAVNI program. They cite the fact that both his parents and his fiancée are still living in Pakistan.

In a separate section, the man's cross-examiner notes that the rookie "wanted to come to America since he was five." Also, that his cell phone case is an American flag and that he has a US Army car sticker on his car.

He has such a deep and long-standing loyalty to the United States that he can look forward to resolving any conflict of interest in favor of the United States that mitigates [his foreign ties risk] " , wrote the critic

Despite the vote of approval, the Pakistani man was still released.

"These are the reasons on the basis of which I was refused" Recalling the When he first learned of the release after waiting more than two years for active duty deployment, he said, "There were so many tears in my eyes that my hands could not move fast enough to erase them. "

Stock, who reviewed the document, said that the explanation does not make sense.

" The paperwork says just foreign links But these are ordinary and normal links that any immigrant would have, "she said, adding that" many of the military who are married to foreign born foreigners have relatives who are foreigners, brothers and sisters who are foreigners. "

" It is very common in a world army like that of the United States that people "

C is a little comforting for the man from Pakistan and Zhao, who fear of To be deported as a result of their release. Both were sworn allegiance to enlistment, and they fear becoming targets of their respective governments.

In the case of Zhao, he formed an organization called Asian-American Soldiers for America, which delivered letters to President Trump last year. and met with several senators and congressmen during a visit to Washington, DC

"I'm sure the Chinese government knows what I've done, and that they know my name" , he said, referring to the oath of allegiance. "I do not know what will happen if I come back."

NPR's Tom Bowman, Monika Evstatieva and Gail Austin contributed to this story.

Monika Evstatieva