Jeh Johnson and Immigrants in the Military

He doesn’t seem to care too much about immigration status…

Recently, Senator Durbin (D-IL) and Jeh Johnson, the newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security, exchanged letters about immigration.  In them, Sen. Durbin asks questions on some of the most pressing and controversial issues in immigration today that are under the control of the Department of Homeland Security, and Johnson directly addressed them.  While all eyes are on the House of Representatives to see what will be possible in 2014, Secretary Johnson will have a heavy hand in the enforcement of immigration law, and this letter is an outline of what we might be able to expect from him.

Johnson’s letter starts with an assurance that enforcement will be focused on those who threaten security, public safety and “the integrity of our borders.”  He then goes on to “ensure that the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process continues to be effective.”

He also addresses some of the most controversial elements of enforcement, that he does not “believe that deportation quotas or numeric goals are a good idea,” promising, if conformed, to “evaluate the prosecutorial discretion guidelines of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ensure they are consistent with the Department’s enforcement priorities.”  Currently, stories of people being deported over traffic tickets are commonplace, such as the case of Erika Andiolas’ mother.

He also says the he intends to “visit immigration detention centers on a regular basis, and review conditions of confinement at these centers.” Also, he said he agrees that policies and procedures on “issues of solitary confinement, access to lawyers and social services, screening and treatment of those with mental illness, sexual assault prevention and detainee access to phone calls should be carefully and continually evaluated.”

While not promising any actual action, this does sound to be a firm commitment to addressing the abhorrent conditions exposed by groups like the DREAM9 of corporate detention centers owned by groups like the Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO Group.  These conditions are difficult to even get a glimpse at from the outside, and are typically horrible as undocumented immigrants have little political power and prisons have become a multi-billion dollar industry.

Of particular interest to DREAMers in the military, Johnson talks about the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI).  MAVNI is one way in which non-citizens who are legally present in the US can join the military and apply for immediate US citizenship.  This isn’t too surprising, as soldier, lawyer and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient charged with implementing MAVNI, Margaret Stock, often explains, “we had always enlisted immigrants regardless of their citizenship status.”

Similarly, Rep. Coffman (R-CO) is currently pushing H.C. 435, the Military Enlistment Opportunity Act of 2013.  This is a measure to allow those with DACA status to enlist in the military.  This piece of legislation was introduced early this year, and has a very uncertain future as other pieces of legislation and debates within immigration and military are considered more pressing.

For non-citizen immigrants, military service carries the additional repayment of citizenship: under section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, President Bush declared that, when the nation is engaged in armed conflict, immigrants in the military can obtain their US citizenship regardless of their length of residency or immigration status through active duty service.  This means that, whether through Coffman’s bill or the MANVI project, if someone with DACA status, or no status, manages to get into the military and serve active duty for one day, they would be eligible to receive their citizenship.

While Jeh Johnson’s letter was written during his confirmation before he took office, it is very important that it exists: it shows an outline of what sort of administration he wants to run in the Department of Homeland Security.  Considering how it was Janet Napolitano, the old Secretary of Homeland Security, who was responsible for implementing DACA and making it the success it is today while still maintaining record deportation numbers, whether or not Johnson will stick to his rhetoric will have huge implications in the lives of immigrants.