Aug 9, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Report: Army temporarily halts discharges of immigrant recruits

A National Guard honor guard at a naturalization ceremony. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

An Army memo obtained by the Associated Press from last month directs high-ranking officials to immediately "suspend processing" discharges of enlistees in the special immigrant program, which can provide an expedited path to citizenship.

The backdrop: When the AP first broke the news regarding immigrant discharges last month, it was not immediately clear if the decisions marked a change in Army policy. But retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel Margaret Stock, who was a part of the creation of the immigrant recruitment program, told the AP that the memo serves as an "admission by the Army that they've improperly discharged hundreds of soldiers."

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