Program of the Pentagon on medical and language services to immigrants in exchange for fast acquisition of citizenship has been greatly complicated by the introduction of additional security measures. In the end, she was suspended in September 2016.
June 26, The Post first reported on the informal recommendations of the Ministry to cover the program, Military Accessions Vital to National Interes, which in 2009 received the citizenship 10400 military, and to cancel contracts of 1,800 recruits who were waiting for the start of the service.
About a thousand of them waited so long that their period of legal residence in the United States expired. In an informal Memorandum of the Ministry of defense, who succeeded to The Post, recognized the fact that the cancellation of these contracts could result in the deportation of recruits. In response, legislators urged the Minister of defense of Jim Mattis to comply with the terms of the contract.
«Recruits who already swear allegiance to the United States, could face harsh interrogation and even imprisonment in their countries of deportation, for example, in China or Russia,» — said Tom Malinowski, a former assistant Secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor under the Obama administration.
Media reports about the Memorandum sparked a debate among the recruits and those who rely on that program closely followed the events.
The program was created after military officials found that certain medical skills and language skills such as Russian, Chinese and Korean, are vital to national security. The program promises citizenship in a few months instead of the years of the naturalization process.
Recruits programs are especially valuable to the special operations Command, as they have in-depth knowledge of culture and language required for training and advising foreign military.
«The Ministry of defence discredited the program so that it is unlikely that the damage could be reduced to zero at the moment,» said Margaret Stock, a retired officer. «Recruits, immigrants are unlikely to trust the military in the future, and the program of recruiting fail».
Press Secretary of the Pentagon, johnny Michael refused to comment on any aspect of the program, citing ongoing litigation related to the program.
