"Today is not your lucky day": U.S. military vets who fought for America and were deported anyway...

Those who fought for us since 9/11 have had the opportunity to get citizenship for their service. Those that didn't ... and subsequently committed a crime warranting deportation ... have only themselves to blame. Sorry ... appreciate your service ... but not your criminal activity. Had you gotten your citizenship, you wouldn't have been deported ... just thrown in jail.

My mother was a 17 year old registered alien from Mexico attending nursing school in El Paso, Texas, when the US entered WWII. After the Bolton Act was passed in 1943, an Army recruiter told her to lie about her age and she was commissioned in the Nurse Corps at 19 years of age, and assigned to a hospital in Scotland. At the completion of the war, she passed the citizenship test and was naturalized, BUT she had to apply. It was not automatic. She did get a waiver for the requirement to live in the US, because she remained in Europe until 1948, as part of the US Army of Occupation, and was actually sworn in while she was in Germany.

I have a question. Had the individuals who served honorably simply been put in jail for their crimes vs getting deported, would this still be wrong? Obtaining citizenship in this country by coming here legally and serving in the military to expedite the process of obtaining citizenship is not rocket science. It is also not automatic. You are essentially on probation. If you choose not to apply for citizenship, I have to ask why. If you break the law and you're not a citizen (whether you're still here legally or not), I'm sorry but you blew it. The service of these individuals as absolutely admirable, but we have to also realize that they put others at risk when they drive while intoxicated or when they enable the drug trade by using hard core illegal opiates.