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AP: The United States Army is quietly discharging immigrant recruits. Photo: Getty.
AP: The United States Army is quietly discharging immigrant recruits. Photo: Getty.

The U.S. government is 'silently' purging immigrants out of the military

Dozens of immigrant recruits and members of the reserve forces are facing discharges and abrupt contract cancellations within the U.S. military.

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In an attempt to "Americanize" the country's core foundations, Donald Trump's government has now placed its focus on the military.

Dozens of immigrant men and women willing to risk their lives for the U.S. now face an agonizing situation after the army suddenly suspended their contracts and granted forced discharges of their duties.

According to the Associated Press, these immigrants could have entered into military careers "for the prospect of U.S. citizenship, a timeworn exchange that’s drawn linguists, medical specialists, and thousands of other immigrants to the military since the Revolutionary War."

Although the exact figures of the affected soldiers are unknown, some immigration lawyers informed the media that they know "more than 40 recruits who recently have been discharged or whose status has become questionable.”

Those affected have received arguments implying that they’re categorized as “security risks” because of having relatives abroad, or because the Department of Defense “hasn’t completed their background checks.”

An example of the procedure of citizenship through service in the U.S. Armed Forces dates from 2002, when the George W. Bush administration ordered the "expedited naturalization" of all immigrant soldiers, giving rise later to the program known as MAVNI (Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest), in its fight against "terror" after the events of September 11.

The program attracted more than 10,000 foreigners to the military.

The government of Barack Obama incorporated the undocumented youth brought to the country as children (better known as Dreamers) to be potentially enlisted, detonating strong criticism from the conservative wing, which opted for the implementation of more rigorous procedures at the time of background checking each soldier.

For its part, the Trump administration not only added more bureaucratic obstacles for immigrants who wished to serve, but also terminated the MAVNI program, which had been temporarily suspended in 2016 on the grounds that "it was vulnerable to an unacceptable level of risk for internal threats such as espionage, terrorism and other criminal activities," a Pentagon spokesperson told CBS.

As part of its anti-immigrant agenda, the current administration has proceeded to "silently" discharge officials and soldiers. As a result, dozens of immigrants - among them Chinese, Pakistanis, Latinos, and Iranians - have seen frustrated not only their dream of serving the United States but also their chance to live in the country.

While the Department of Defense has established that "all service members with an honorable discharge are protected from deportation," the recent purge carried out by the government has granted the soldiers "uncharacterized discharges,” neither dishonorable nor honorable, as The Independent explained.

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