Why has citizenship suddenly become an issue for the children of some men and women who are serving our nation overseas?
What wrong have they committed except to put this country first?
The Trump administration says it’s all a matter of boring regulatory housecleaning, a minor revision of the rules so that they are the same for the military and the State Department. And the administration says only a handful of children will be affected each year.
But given this president’s dismal record on immigration, we’re not buying it. This is an administration that has deported veterans and curtailed the enlistment of immigrants into the armed services.
The new rules will require that some military and diplomatic personnel, as well as other government employees overseas, jump through hoops of paperwork to secure American citizenship for their children.
The new rules will apply, according to the Washington Post, to children adopted overseas by government workers or military members, children whose parents weren’t citizens when they were born, and children of Americans who didn’t meet the residency requirements needed to automatically transmit citizenship at birth.
There’s a big thank-you from the Trump administration. And nobody should be surprised if, once the new rule goes into effect in October, our nation has a tougher time finding people willing to serve overseas.
We also might be treated to the distressing spectacle of pregnant women traveling back to the United States while their pregnancies are still in an early enough stage for safe flying — just to have that baby on American soil — unnecessarily separating families for months.
But then, this administration has a record of separating families.
As the news spread this week, so did confusion and dismay for members of military and diplomatic groups, some of whom will now have to jump through hoops to ensure their children are citizens.
There’s no need for that. The Trump administration’s time would be better spent expressing gratitude to those who serve our nation overseas.
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