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US ARMY
Before the Trump administration, immigrants could join the US military to become US citizens. |
Immigrant soldiers in the US Army and their relatives have been put in danger because of sensitive information that was unintentionally leaked.
An internal document containing names, Social Security numbers, and enlistment dates was accidentally released.
The leaked document contains sensitive information for 4,200 immigrant recruits, was sent out at least three different times between July 2017 and January 2018, risking interception by foreign governments, reports the Washington Post.
Although the document doesn't list countries of origins, the list of recruits included more than 900 Mandarin Chinese speakers and dozens of Russian speakers.
"If that list is floating out there, it would potentially be incredibly dangerous for [recruits]. In some countries, it can even be a death sentence," Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Democrat from New Jersey and former State Department human-rights official, told The Post.
The immigrant recruits on the list were part of the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) recruitment program, which offered naturalization for recruits who served in essential positions, such as medical or critical-language roles. The program was suspended a little over two years ago due to security concerns.
Chinese citizens who threaten Chinese national security in any way, especially joined an adversarial nation's military, could be sentenced to life in prison or even the death penalty and their families threatened, detained or simply disappear.
"We acknowledged the severity of this inadvertent disclosure of sensitive personal information," Col. Michael Indovina, spokesperson for US Army Training and Doctrine Command an emailed statement to
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