New immigration policy could help some undocumented veterans seek naturalization

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office has issued a new written guidance expanding the eligibility for citizenship of former U.S. armed forces veterans facing deportation, as well as hundreds who were already removed from the country.

The three-page 'policy alert' memo, dated November 12, is part of an initiative “to remove barriers to naturalization,” and comes in response to the case of a former U.S. Marine in central Florida, Paul Canton, who enlisted in 1991 hoping to become a U.S. citizen.

After almost 30 years in the United States, he learned he was undocumented and faced deportation.

“It’s been hell,” he told Univision by telephone on Wednesday as he was still coming to terms with the news. “It’s hard to get my head around it. Is it real or not?” he added.

It also came as a complete surprise to his pro-bono lawyer, Elizabeth Ricci in Tallahassee, who has been fighting the case for three years.

"I couldn't believe it"

" I nearly fell off my chair when I read it this morning. I had to look at the words several times. I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I’m sure there are other people in this situation who may now be able to get naturalized. I’m so happy for these people,” she added.

Ricci, who is a member of the Military Assistance Program at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), said it is estimated that the new expanded guidance could assist an estimated 300 foreign born veterans who were deported due to their immigration status, usually after committing some form of legal offense.

Born in New Zealand, Canton, now 50, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 during the Persian Gulf conflict and figured he would automatically become a US. citizen.

“That’s what the recruiting officer told me when I enlisted. He said it was automatic,” he told Univision in 2020 when his story was first reported.

Naturalization denied

A farm manager these days, Canton said he was “terrified” of being deported after his request for naturalization was denied by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in January 2020.

“We’ve been through so much. None of it made any sense to me. I just don’t understand why it was necessary,” he said.

He said it was especially worrying for his U.S.-born wife, and their two children, who were also born in this country. Unable to get a drivers’ license he recalled being unable to drive to the bank at Christmas to get cash after his wife was taken ill.

Medals

Canton said he left Australia aged 17 on an exchange program and spent a couple of years working on cattle ranches in Colorado and Wyoming before deciding to enlist in the Marines.

His four years of military service took him for a year to Okinawa, Japan, before he was stationed at the U.S. Marine base at Quantico, Virginia. Along the way Corporal Canton was awarded the National Defense Medal as well as a Good Conduct Medal and Rifle Marksman Badge.

After completing four years he was honorably discharged in November 1995, but was on in-active duty for another four years which meant he could be called up in an emergency.

Canton never received any official citizenship document or residency. But his belief he was a citizen was reinforced when he was able to obtain a Social Security card and drivers’ license simply by showing his official discharge papers, known as a DD214 form, which listed his mother in Australia as his nearest living relative.

American wife and sons

He married and has two boys now aged 17 and 15, with his wife Paulina. He also registered to vote and paid U.S. taxes. Public records show he cast several ballots, including the November 2016 presidential election in which he voted for Donald Trump.

His problems began in the summer of 2019 when he attempted to renew his Florida driver license and was told he needed to present proof of U.S. citizenship. Instead, he was accused of committing a crime by voting when he knew he was not a citizen, and risked being put in deportation proceedings.

The Florida branch of the American Legion, the largest veterans organization in the country, estimates there are thousands of similar cases nationwide. The number of veterans who were born outside the United States stands at approximately 530,000, representing three percent of all 18.6 million veterans nationwide, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Ricci believes Canton’s problem was created by his Marine recruiting officer who made a mistake when he enlisted. “There’s lots of gaping holes in this,” she said. Ricci noted that non-U.S. veterans can qualify for citizenship if they served during wartime, or what is known legally as a ’ Designated Period of Hostility’, such as the Korean or Vietnam wars, the Persian Gulf conflict and the ongoing war on terrorism after September 11, 2001.

The U.S. Marine Corps website confirms that recruits must have at least a green card in order to join.
Ricci appealed his case claiming that Canton was eligible to naturalize due to the fact that he enlisted on March 29, 1991 a few weeks before the end of the Persian Gulf War, otherwise known as Operation ‘ Desert Storm.’

Nov 12 "Guidance" memo

The policy memo she received this week titled ' Clarifying Guidance on Military Service Members and Naturalization' states that the updated policy is part of a DHS initiative “to ensure that all eligible current and former noncitizen service members and the families of service members are able to remain in or return to the United States, to remove barriers to naturalization for those eligible, and improve access to immigration services.”

It states that some former members of the U.S. armed forces who served during periods of hostility “may be eligible to naturalize” even if they were not legal residents when they were enlisted. It adds that as long they received an honorable discharge and resided in the United States “at the time of induction, enlistment, reenlistment, or extension of service in the U.S. Armed Forces.”

It also states that “some former members of the U.S. armed forces who served during periods of hostility and are not legal residents “may be eligible to naturalize … even if currently residing outside the United States.” People who fit that category “may seek to be admitted or paroled into the United States for the purpose of attending a naturalization interview of oath ceremony.”

Ricci said the memo was a recognition of cases like Canton and others, who, through no fault of their own, were admitted to the U.S. armed forces without having proper documents.

“It’s an acknowledgement that the military has continued to recruit on a large-scale people who were not eligible,” she said.

As long as they were not dishonorably discharged and served during times of war, that error is now being rectified.

In order for those living abroad to benefit under the new policy Ricci said applicants need to fill out an I-131 and an N-400 form, “and they will be sworn in upon entry.”

"My journey is almost over"

Now that his case may be resolved soon, Canton said he hopes others can benefit too.

“My journey is almost over but how many veterans are there just getting started on this. I hope we have raised some awareness,” he said.

Canton said there was no way he could have afforded the legal cost to fight his case without the pro bono support of Ricci. “I don’t know how many lawyers there are like Elizabeth who are ready to stand their ground for us,” he said. “She’s a fighter. She’s my champion,” he added.