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U.S. NEWS Friday 20 July 2018

$ 10

Florida soldier says agency is

blocking path to citizenship

By MIKE SCHNEIDER service with the troops, he dismissed because immi-
Associated Press was stabbed by an insur- gration authorities quickly
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — gent and shot in the leg. ruled on the plaintiffs' ap-
Haeder Al Anbki was all set He lost a toe on his left foot plications once the com-
to become a U.S. citizen from shrapnel. His brother, plaints were filed, erasing
last year. also a translator for U.S. the legal grounds on which
The former interpreter for troops, was killed. they sued.
U.S. forces in Iraq, who had CARRP, as the program is Besides his National Guard
been shot and stabbed known, started in the final work, Al Anbki is employed
during his service, was at year of President George as a security guard at Or-
a June 2017 naturaliza- W. Bush's administration. It's lando International Airport
tion ceremony in Fort Ben- "an internal policy that has while raising two grade-
ning, Georgia, for 20 im- neither been approved by school-aged boys as a
migrant recruits when he Congress nor subjected to single dad. He has passed
was stopped and told he public notice and com- multiple background
wouldn't be participating. ment," according to Al An- checks from the visa,
No explanation was given bki's lawsuit. Guard participation and
other than "there was a The once-secret program job, he said.
problem in the system," ac- is also being challenged in "This is no way to treat
cording to a lawsuit he filed federal court in Seattle by somebody who bled for his
last month in the District of the American Civil Liberties country," Al Anbki said.q This July 12, 2018 photo provided by Jaime Lugo shows Haeder
Columbia. Union and the Northwest Al Anbki at Camp Blanding in Jacksonville, Fla.
The 36-year-old Al Anbki Immigrant Rights Project. Associated Press
says in the lawsuit that the Their class-action lawsuit
U.S. Citizenship and Immi- claims the government
gration Services was ob- since 2008 has blacklisted
ligated to complete his thousands of applications
citizenship application but for asylum, legal perma-
instead was applying a nent residency or citizen-
different set of rules under ship as national security
a program known as the concerns. The case goes to
Controlled Application Re- trial next year.
view and Resolution Pro- An agency spokeswoman
gram, which opponents said in a statement that
say targets applicants from privacy restrictions prevent
majority-Muslim countries. her from talking about spe-
"Everybody was looking cific cases.
at me and they were like, "USCIS adjudicates all natu-
'What's going on?'" Al An- ralization applications fairly,
bki said Wednesday in a efficiently, and effectively
telephone interview from on a case-by-case basis
Camp Blanding in Jackson- to determine if they meet
ville, where he was train- all standards required un-
ing with his Florida National der the law," the statement
Guard unit. said.
"It was frustrating for me. The statement said "some
Like, why? Of the 20 soldiers applications take longer
there, I'm the only one who than others to process,"
got held." and that applicants are
Al Anbki, who lives in Or- notified of a final decision.
lando, Florida, came to the However, opponents say
United States in 2011 after what really happens is the
working with U.S. troops in applications often are de-
Iraq for nine years as an layed indefinitely.
interpreter, a job that al- Other lawsuits around the
lowed him to get a special country have challenged
immigration visa. During his the program, but they were