Pentagon memo: Foreign recruits pose security risk
The Pentagon wants to pull out of a deal it made with thousands of noncitizen recruits: Join the US military to gain the fast track in becoming an American citizen.
Published: July 4, 2017, 10:52 am
Washington
US officials believe there may exist a “potential threat posed by individuals who may have a higher risk of connections to Foreign Intelligence Services,” and it refers to an “elevated” risk of insider threats to US national security.
The recruitment scheme was launched in 2009 to attract immigrants with either medical or language skills, including surgeons and Arabic linguists. It allowed visa holders, asylum seekers and refugees to bypass the Green Card application process to become US citizens.
According to the US National Public Radio (NRP) the proposal to dismantle the fast-track citizenship programme would cancel enlistment contracts for many of the foreign-born recruits, even those with specialised skills.
Around a thousand would also be left without legal protection from deportation. Reports suggest the visas of these recruits have expired, according to The Independent.
Some of the 10 000 trainee soldiers recruited under MAVNI, have filed lawsuits alleging “discrimination” and breach of agreement. A lawyer representing recruits in one of the suits, Neil O’Donnell, complained about the “rampant paranoia” at the Pentagon.
In a memo obtained by NPR, sent from Pentagon officials to Defense Secretary James Mattis, concerns about security was highlighted. The memo cited high-level personnel and intelligence officials who were concerned about the current inadequate vetting of recruits under a programme called Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI.
New letter of proposal for the MAVNI program by my friend, David Wang. pic.twitter.com/ZBqoPSpLHN
— Kathy Zhu (@PoliticalKathy) June 29, 2017
The MAVNI programme was established after a suggestion by Col Margaret Stock to address a shortfall in language skills. Stock, who works as a lawyer in Anchorage, Alaska, said the decision would not only deny the military of a source of applicants with specialised skills, but was an act of bad faith.
“It’s a classic example of bureaucratic bungling,” Stock told The Independent. “We stopped recruiting immigrants into the military after Vietnam. That’s why 9/11 happened. We could not read all the intelligence transcripts.”
The US Department of Defence has meanwhile refused to provide a detailed response.
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