Veterans Day: Program to recruit immigrants temporarily suspended

US ARMY

The U.S. military reflect the diversity of the nation.

AS THE NATION observes Veterans Day, the U.S. military is having second thoughts about having immigrants in the armed forces.

The temporary suspension of a program aimed at recruiting immigrants has caused confusion among recruiters and has left thousands of enlistees in limbo and in danger of deportation.

However, at the same time, sending a mixed message, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last month that the Pentagon is taking steps to save Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI, that allows foreign-born recruits to earn an expedited path to U.S. citizenship.

“We are taking the steps obviously to save the program, if it can be saved,” Mattis told reporters. “If it can, you do due diligence for it to make sure what you are bringing in is what you think you are bringing in.”

In a memo dated Oct. 13, the Pentagon announced it was making two changes to the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI, program, to include increased background checks and extended service requirements.

Since 2009, more than 10,000 recruits have entered the military through the MAVNI program. However, no new recruits have been brought in since 2016, when the Pentagon assessed it did not have proper safeguards in place against potential insider threats.

“We could not continue what we’d been doing without an espionage potential,” Mattis said of the previous weaknesses found in the program.
For generations, immigrants have served proudly in the U.S. armed forces. Understanding the history of military service by immigrants, as well as the legal barriers to the enlistment of skilled foreign-born residents, leads us to clear policy recommendations for President Trump and Congress to consider.

Today, approximately 40,000 immigrants serve in the armed forces, and approximately 5,000 noncitizens enlist each year. As of 2016, about 511,000 veterans were foreign-born. Throughout U.S. history, many immigrants have served with distinction and are among those who have received the highest military honors. More than 20 percent of Medal of Honor recipients are immigrants.

The MAVNI program was authorized by the Secretary of Defense in November 2008. It’s purpose is to address critical shortages of medical and strategic language personnel in the U.S. armed services by allowing certain qualified noncitizens to enlist in the U.S. military under Section 504(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code.

MAVNI recruits noncitizens in the U.S. whose enlistment is vital to the national interest.

Since 2009, more than 10,400 individuals have enlisted or served in the U.S. military through MAVNI. Approximately 10,000 of those enlistees are still in the service or waiting to serve. On Sept. 30, 2016, the Defense Department authorized the annual recruitment of up to 1,400 enlistees through MAVNI. 

However, the Defense Department instituted stricter security vetting for immigrant enlistees that required onerous paperwork and processing. In some instances, the vetting has taken longer than the enlistee's contract allows leaving them vulnerable to deportation. 

The final result is that the program temporarily suspended. The Defense Department is currently not accepting MAVNI applications for fiscal year (FY) 2017.

Experts say the relatively small number of recruits in the MAVNI program possess skills with outsize value, such as foreign languages highly sought by Special Operations Command.

Sens. Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., and Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill. filed an amendment in the defense authorization bill to retain MAVNI recruits until their lengthy background investigations are finished.

“These brave men & women enlisted & the Administration turns its back on them,” said Harris. “We must pass Sen. Durbin’s & my bill to protect these recruits.”
“It’s a dumpster fire ruining people’s lives. The magnitude of incompetence is beyond belief,” said Margaret Stock, a retired Army officer who led creation of the immigration recruitment program, told The Washington Post

“We have a war going on. We need these people,” 
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