As a civilian and reality show host, Donald Trump sent out at least 60 tweets exploiting Benghazi, but when it comes to addressing the deadliest combat mission yet of his presidency, he’s preferred to discuss anything but the fact that he’s had time to golf five times in nine days but has failed to contact numerous Gold Star families. When he does manage to call, it’s been insulting. When he gets called out for it, he lies and blames Obama. Trump refused five times to serve his country in Vietnam, and now that he’s Nativist in Chief, the administration is obstructing green card holders who do want to step up where he didn’t:
The U.S. Army has stopped enlisting some immigrants who are legal permanent residents while mandating lengthy delays for others, part of a controversial effort across the military to tighten security in the ranks by subjecting foreign-born recruits to tougher background checks.
Implemented late last week, the new policy halts indefinitely all enlistments involving green-card holders seeking to join the Army Reserve and National Guard, which is a part-time military service commitment. Green-card holders seeking to become full-time soldiers remain eligible to enlist in the active-duty Army, but they are no longer allowed to start basic training before their background checks are complete — a process that could take a year or more.
“The Pentagon defends this and related measures implemented in recent months, claiming they’re necessary to prevent terrorists and foreign agents from infiltrating the American military,” notes the Washington Post. But, “the Pentagon has not disclosed any examples of legitimate threats stemming from immigrant recruits.”
“It looks like we’re now afraid of foreigners in the military. And that means mission failure,” said Margaret Stock, a retired Army officer who helped start a military program that has allowed thousands of immigrants to serve and eventually earn citizenship. “If you’re going to be deployed in more than 100 countries to fight a global war, you can’t be afraid of foreigners.”
Washington Post:
Caught up in policy changes are potentially hundreds of immigrants already in the Army’s recruiting pipeline, and thousands more who would have followed. Many have prioritized military service with the goal of gaining fast-tracked citizenship — a perk the Army can offer as it competes with the private sector for talented applicants.
Critics deride the moves as potentially unlawful, and that they’ll turn away prospective troops who possess language and medical skills desperately needed throughout the armed forces. The piecemeal, secretive manner in which these new rules have been adopted has caused widespread confusion for recruits and recruiters alike, opponents say, and sends a terrible message.
Other new regulations also extend the waiting period for military green-card holders to become naturalized U.S. citizens. Previously, that could occur just weeks into basic training. Now active-duty recruits must wait at least 180 days.
The dramatic policy changes have eroded confidence among recruits closely monitoring every development. One Army Reserve recruit, a green-card holder from Haiti, told The Post on Wednesday that his training date was suspended with no indication when he can expect to resume the enlistment process.
“We had a contract and now they’re not going to respect the terms,” said the recruit, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
“It’s confusing. There is no explanation. Even the recruiter doesn’t know what is happening,” he said.
Trump’s decidedly anti-immigrant nativism and actions are detrimental to the U.S. military. Because he ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, nearly 1,000 immigrant youth enrolled in Stock’s military program risk being deported once they lose their DACA protections and Congress is unable to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act. U.S. Army recruiters have also “abruptly canceled enlistment contracts for hundreds of foreign-born military recruits” in the program, and without the contract, they’re at risk of deportation. Remember all this the next time he wants to feign faux outrage at NFL players and then hide behind the flag of patriotism.