Then what do you expect from US immigration, or in this case CIS(Citizenship and Immigration Services). From the Kansas City Star–
Julian Polous was born in Mosul, Iraq, graduated from college and learned to speak four languages. But he fled Saddam Hussein’s army and found asylum in the United States.
He got a green card and joined the Army. He served an extended tour in his homeland of Iraq. He earned several medals, including a Purple Heart.
He passed multiple background checks.
Yet the United States is not ready to let him become a U.S. citizen. His application for citizenship has been circling in naturalization purgatory since April 2007, caught in a backlog of FBI name checks.
Under federal law, an application is supposed to be processed within 120 days after authorities interview the applicant. Polous’ interview was in January.
Growing tired of the runaround, Poulous has gotten the ACLU to file a lawsuit on his behalf. This is how our government bureaucracy rewards brave soldiers. It is a disgrace.
Here’s the story of how Poulous was wounded last fall.
On Sept. 24, 2007, Shiite and Sunni tribal leaders, Iraqi politicians, and American and Iraqi soldiers gathered for a reconciliatory meeting outside a mosque in Baquba, Iraq. Polous was there to interpret for his commander, Col. David W. Sutherland of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
Just inside the mosque, a suicide bomber blew himself up. Polous and Sutherland were just three steps away.
The blast threw them to the ground, breaking Polous’ ribs and leaving him unconscious. Shrapnel ripped into the bodies of those surrounding the bomber. Twenty-four people were killed and 37 were wounded.
“When I woke up,” Polous said, “I heard screaming and shouting. I saw a body with no legs quite near me. Then I noticed something on me … human flesh … not my own.”
But he kept translating to help direct medical treatment for the wounded. He even extended his tour a few months at the request of Sutherland, who also was injured in the blast.
Sutherland, reached by phone Friday at the Pentagon, was clear how he felt about his former interpreter:
“I love Polous. We called him ‘Majit.’ None of the interpreters use their real Iraqi names. We didn’t want anyone knowing he was an American soldier,” so Polous wore civilian garb instead of his uniform.
“He was accepted better than any other interpreter by governors, tribal leaders, whomever we needed communication with,” Sutherland said.
Because Polous was working so closely with his colonel, he had to go through a background check by military intelligence.
Apparently that means nothing to CIS. Some spineless bureaucrat(s) whose idea of bravery is probably facing the rush hour commute on their drive home, are delaying citizenship for a man who has put his life in mortal danger on many occasions for this country. These are the people some would like to entrust deporting people out of the US without checks and balances to prevent legal aliens and US citizens caught by mistake in an immigration sweep. Just insane….
Hat tip- Immigration Law Blog
