Congressman Elijah E. Cummings Proudly Representing Maryland's 7th District

(12/10/05 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)

Those who serve America deserve citizenship

by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

Kendell K. Frederick became an American citizen last month - but he never had the chance to participate in a naturalization ceremony, to vote for those who would represent him, nor even to know that this country had fully accepted him.

Army Reserve Specialist Frederick was killed while serving his adopted country on October 19. A roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle outside Tikrit, Iraq.

During the days and months leading up to Kendell Frederick’s ultimate sacrifice, he was struggling to meet the requirements for U.S. citizenship amidst gunfire, car bombs, and insurgent attacks. Back home in Randallstown, Maryland, his mother, Mrs. Michelle Murphy, was helping - filling out the required documents and e-mailing regular updates to her son.

Finally, only one hurdle remained - providing the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service with his fingerprints. Although the U.S. Military already had a copy, regulations required Spc. Frederick to travel through the battlefields of Iraq to a designated location in order to provide a duplicate.

Tragically, Kendell Frederick was killed during this final journey.

Three weeks later, when his body was returned to his family, Spc. Frederick’s mother was given a simple, one-page citizenship application that took her only five minutes to complete.

In death, her son finally achieved his goal. Too late to enjoy the benefits, Spc. Kendell Frederick, a 21-year-old American hero from Trinidad, finally became a citizen of this country.

It is not too late, however, to do what is right and just for the other 40,000 non-citizens who are serving on active duty in the U.S. military today, including 3,200 brave men and women who are serving their adopted country in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Many of these immigrant soldiers originally came to America for better opportunities. They could have devoted themselves to academia, business, or information technology - all of which could have led to citizenship. Instead, these immigrants took an oath to protect, serve, and defend this country, knowing that they could lose their arms, their legs, or even their lives in the U.S. military.

Those who are prepared to sacrifice and die for this country have earned the affirmation and respect that American citizenship conveys.

Non-citizens have fought in American wars since the founding of this nation. Special naturalization procedures have been provided to them since the Civil War.
In 2002, President Bush signed an executive order that provides immediate eligibility for naturalization to active-duty members of the U.S. military during periods of military hostility, bypassing the three year waiting period that otherwise would apply to them. This was a step in the right direction - but we should do more.

For their sacrifice, our non-citizen troops should not have to die in order to have their citizenship granted immediately. The five-minute, one-page form that Kendell Frederick’s mother was given to sign should be handed to all non-citizen soldiers at the time of enlistment - not to grieving family members at their grave sites.

“If you’re fighting, prepared to die for this country, you should be able to vote for your leader,” Spc. Frederick’s mother observed. I agree.

That is why Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski and I will be sponsoring the “Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act of 2005.” Our proposed legislation would require that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) use the fingerprints provided by soldiers at the time they enlist in the Armed Forces to satisfy the fingerprinting requirements associated with their applications for citizenship.

New soldiers would be notified in writing about how to obtain citizenship; and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and CIS would be required to create a special toll-free telephone service staffed by trained personnel to answer questions about achieving citizenship from members of the armed forces and their families.

Our bill would create a Citizenship Advocate within the Department of Defense. We also would require the General Accountability Office to investigate how efficiently and effectively the applications for citizenship from military personnel are being handled.

Facing their life-or-death struggles on foreign soil, soldiers like Spc. Kendell Frederick should not have to fight red tape at home as well.

They have earned their right to be Americans - and it is only just that we acknowledge that right while there is time.

-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.

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