The Widow Penalty at work again. Meet Nok Kells–
Nok Kells still finds her situation befuddling. The U.S. government is paying military death benefits to her and her two children, but at the same time telling her she has no legal basis to remain in the country.
Kells married U.S. naval officer Robert Kells in July 2005. This time last year, he was killed in a motorcycle accident in Wildwood.
He said this weekend would be the first anniversary of his son’s death. Robert Kells was a petty officer first class in the Navy.
He met his wife in Beijing in 2003 and was living in Wildwood working as a recruiter when he died. The accident occurred just a short distance from the couple’s home.
The above article is over a year old. Nok Kells was on television last week, I’ll be getting to that. He husband Robert Kells was a first class petty Officer and a Navy recruiter at the time of his death.
Nok’s case is in limbo at the moment. She has two daughters from a previous marriage. She was given a one year deferrment, but now that has expired. Her driver’s license is invalid as is her 19-year-old daughter’s, both are not legally able to work. Thankfully Robert Kells’ parents are supporting his wife and children.
Nok Kells and her attorney appeared on television recently. You can watch the video here. If you want to read more about the Widow Penalty, I suggest you read my long post here.
Robert Kells served this country, now we’re going to deport his widow. This is outrageous. Why do people, including some Wizbang readers, defend immigration when they commit travesties like this on a regular basis? These are usually the same people were screaming about immigration when six months after 9-11 the agency renewed visas for some of the hijackers.
The Mark Krikorian mindset, which wants to clamp down on legal immigrants or turns a blind eye to their punishment, I have never understood. We don’t need legal immigrants? The US is facing a shortage of 800,000 nurses in a little over 10 years. That will affect the healthcare system of this country. Sure so lets cut back on the total of visas given out to trained nurses. Makes sense? Hell no!
Nor does the Widow Penalty. Widows like Mrs. Kells are legal immigrants, not terrorists or illegal aliens. They haven’t committed any crime, and therefore if the marriage was valid, there should be no reason for them not to be able to remain in this country. Death doesn’t totally end the obligations of marriage. A widow is still responsible for debts and other obligations they and their spouse signed onto before one of them died.
The basis for the widow penalty is an almost forty year old administrative decision. How many widows of our active military have we deported over those years? The original case, was the wife of a Navy sailor who died on duty. We deported Mrs. Varela. It is was a disgrace then, and is a disgrace still today. BTW, the amount of active widow is not thousands, but hundreds. Those involved with the class action suit numbering around 150. 
At present there is a class action lawsuit going on in California, and legislation going through the house to bring an end to this nonsense. Unfortunately their isn’t a Senate equivalent of HR 6034 and the class action only applies to widows living in the area of the 9th circuit court of appeals. I’m not the only conservative blogger who thinks the Widow Penalty should be ended. Ed from Hot Air, Jim Addison from here at Wizbang, and James Joyner at OTB agree with me. What we need is more people, ones willing to pressure congress to end this travesty. We should feel ashamed of a government that feels the need to deport widows of our serving military. They put their lives on the line for us, now its time for the American public to support the families left behind.
