The Military Families Act
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- Would Bring a Measure of Stability to their Lives in a Time of Turmoil
- California Army Spc. Jack Barrios : Iraq war veteran’s wife spared deportation
- Illinois Army Reserve Spc. Hector Nunez: A family once divided reunited for Christmas
- Kentucky Lance Cpl. Aspar Andres: Marines immigrant father faces deportation
- Lance Cpl. Aspar Andres: Father of US Marine Deported Despite Sons Plea
- Texas Aurora Gonzalez (Veteran)
- Nelson Delgado (Marines): Wife Faces Deportation, Separation From Husband and Children
- Pfc. Armando Soriano (dec.): Father of fallen soldier now facing deportation
- Virginia Anonymous
While Fighting for America, Members of the Armed Forces Should Not Face the Deportation of Loved Ones Back Home The Military Families Act Would Bring a Measure of Stability to their Lives in a Time of Turmoil May 26, 2011 Immigrants have long and proud tradition of giving back to their adopted nation by serving in the U.S. armed forces. In 2009, 114,601 foreign-born people served in the United States military—including citizens and legal residents. They comprised almost 8% of all active-duty military personnel. In fact, one of the first soldiers to die in Iraq in 2003 was a former undocumented immigrant, Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, who became a legal resident at the age of 18 and joined the military to give back to the country he loved. Congress has recognized the sacrifices that immigrant members of our armed services make, and accelerated access to citizenship for legal permanent residents currently serving in the U.S. military. But Congress has not addressed a situation that many military families are facing: the possible deportation of a spouse, parent, or other close relative who is in the U.S. without papers. The Military Families Act would allow the immediate family members of active duty military service members to apply for green cards if they are otherwise eligible. It would bring a measure of stability and security to the home lives of American soldiers while they are off fighting for this country. Passing this important legislation is the right thing to do. Following are stories of military families from California, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, and Virginia that illustrate the problem and need for this legislation. There are many others in this situation who are afraid to come forward. The government believes there are thousands of military servicemen and women who have spouse or other close family members who are undocumented. For more information on the people who would be helped by this legislation, please contact Senator Menendez’s office or Pili Tobar with America’s Voice Education Fund at 202-463-8602, x308. California Army Spc. Jack Barrios: Iraq war veteran’s wife spared deportation November 6, 2009 Articled copied from: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/06/local/me-immig6 The U.S. government has cleared a pathway to citizenship for the illegal immigrant wife of an Iraq war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress, the family's attorney said Thursday. Army Spc. Jack Barrios, a 26-year-old Los Angeles native who still experiences nightmares and depression after a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq, had faced the collapse of his family after his wife, Frances, was placed in removal proceedings. Frances, a 23-year-old Guatemala native, was illegally brought to the United States at age 6 by her mother but grew up in Van Nuys, where the couple live with their two young children. But the uncertainty ended Thursday when family attorney Jessica Dominguez delivered the good news: U.S. immigration officials have extended humanitarian parole to Frances, allowing her to stay here and apply for a green card. Normally, illegal immigrants are required to leave the country for 10 years before they can apply for legal entry, even if they are married to U.S. citizens. When she was informed of the news, Frances' eyes filled with tears as she slumped onto her husband's shoulder. "Oh, my, God, thank you so much," she said. Her attorney smiled and said: "You get to stay here to take care of Jack and your children." Chris Bentley, a press secretary with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the agency was sympathetic and had worked with the family to find a "reasonable remedy." The Barrioses' plight had attracted national attention as an example of the immigration problems suffered by hundreds of U.S. soldiers. Jack Barrios said his wife was the family's anchor, caring for his 1-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son while he worked 15-hour days at two jobs, and helping him battle his post-traumatic stress. "She's my everything," he told The Times last month. On Thursday, he was all smiles. "I feel joy. We're going back to a normal life," he said. Illinois Army Reserve Spc. Hector Nunez: A family once divided reunited for Christmas December 26, 2010 Article copied from: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-12-26/news/ct-met-xmas-visa-20101226_1_visa-dream-act-christmas A soldier from Hanover Park, his undocumented-immigrant wife and their U.S.-born son were reunited in time for Christmas when they received the unexpected gift of a humanitarian visa, after help from U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez. Luis Gutierrez. -Search using:
Army Reserve Spc. Hector Nunez, 27, his wife, Rosa, 26, and their 1-year-old son, Jason, spent Christmas together in their Hanover Park home after she was granted the one-year visa. Before she was given the visa, she had been barred from re-entering the country for 10 years. "I'm still in shock that I'm here," said Rosa Nunez, who had been banned in June following an interview with officials at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. "It's a beautiful feeling to know I'm here with my family." The visa was delivered to the family Dec. 20 in Mexico City, where Hector Nunez had flown to from O'Hare International Airport. Rosa Nunez and their son arrived in the Mexican capital from the small town of Tepatitlan, about an hour from Guadalajara. That same day, the reunited family flew home to Chicago. News of the visa came to the Nunezes days after the Senate voted down the DREAM Act, a bill supported by Gutierrez that would grant amnesty to some children of undocumented immigrants. DREAM Act supporters point to stories similar to that of Rosa Nunez: She was a child when she and her seven siblings came to the Chicago area with their family. Some of her siblings later became citizens or residents. Nunez is among those who did not. In June, when Hector Nunez learned that he would be deployed to Afghanistan, the couple of five years traveled to Ciudad Juarez for an interview at the U.S. Consulate so she could resolve her legal status. Instead, Nunez was told she could not return to the home where she had spent most of her childhood. Following the separation, Gutierrez took up the case and pushed for a humanitarian visa. Earlier this month, Gutierrez's office informed Hector Nunez that his wife would be home in time for the holidays, according to a statement from his office. It would be a one-year humanitarian visa to care for her mother, a legal resident, who has terminal cancer. While the Nunezes' future plans are unclear, they are thankful to Gutierrez's office for helping get them the visa. "It was a huge miracle," Hector Nunez said on Christmas. "I knew we were going to be together for Christmas. I was planning to go over there. But I didn't know she was going to get to be here." Kentucky Lance Cpl. Aspar Andres: Marine's immigrant father faces deportation December 30, 2010 Article copied from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/30/AR2010123002115_pf.html As a Marine's father awaits deportation for being an illegal immigrant, U.S. immigration officials are giving him a chance to prove he should be granted permanent residency in the United States. "We're just asking for a day in court and ... if we get that, I have good feelings," said Ron Russell, lawyer for illegal immigrant Juan Andres, 41, who came to the United States as a teenager and whose son, a U.S. Marine, is heading to Afghanistan. Russell said his client had until Thursday to file evidence with U.S. immigration officials to try to stop his deportation to Guatemala, according to The Courier-Journal of Louisville. Andres is being held in a jail in Boone County, Ky. Russell said after the evidence is filed, Andres may get a chance to plead his case to a judge. The evidence will include letters from Andres' five children, all of whom are U.S. citizens. One of them is Lance Cpl. Aspar Andres, who is scheduled to leave Sunday for his Marine camp, where he will await deployment to Afghanistan. Juan Andres was arrested Dec. 9 when he accompanied a friend to an immigration office in Louisville to act as a translator. An official in the office suspected Andres was not in the country legally, and Andres was arrested. Russell said other letters supporting Andres have been written by friends and employers, as well as a county attorney and sheriff in one central Kentucky community where Andres has done agricultural work for years. "He's got just a lot of people that think really highly of him," Russell said. Russell said he had hoped immigration officials would give his client another week to prepare a petition signed by acquaintances, but he said he's glad they allowed him time to file anything. He said it's fairly unusual for immigration officials to grant such a request. Russell said Andres could be granted a "green card" or permanent residency if immigration officials allow a hearing before a judge. To get legal status, Andres would have to prove to the judge that he is of good moral character, has been in the country for 10 years and that deportation would create a hardship. Russell said he believes Andres won't have any problem meeting the first two requirements. And he believes that Andres will clear the third hurdle because his children are citizens and he is the family's main breadwinner. Lance Cpl. Aspar Andres: Father of US Marine Deported Despite Son's Plea February 1, 2011 Article copied from: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/02/01/juan-andres-father-marine-aspar-andres-deported-despite-plead-stay/#ixzz1MuV9YKIJ In a deportation case followed around the country, Juan Andres, the father of a U.S. Marine assigned to duty in Afghanistan, was deported back to his native Guatemala. Juan Andres, 41, had fought deportation by presenting immigration officials with letters from friends, an employer, his wife and his five children, all of whom are U.S. citizens, including Lance Cpl. Aspar Andres. His Marine son also made a public plea, while on leave from his base in Hawaii in anticipation of his 2011 deployment, asking immigration officials to show leniency for his father. “I feel like that if I am serving this country, at the very least I should be able to come home and see my parents and my family,” Aspar Andres, 21, said to Fox News Latino in December. “Coming back home and not seeing my father – it just would not be the same.” Juan Andres had worked for years on Kentucky farms with his family. “He taught me that if you want something, you go for it, and you work hard at it,” said Aspar. “He was very proud of me being a Marine, and is supportive of everything I do.” Juan Andres, who first came to the United States as a teenager, was deported Thursday after his request to appear before a judge was denied, Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Monday. Andres was first deported to Guatemala in 1995 following a conviction on a federal charge of alien smuggling, then later illegally re-entered the U.S., she said. "If an alien illegally re-enters the United States after having been deported, the prior removal order is reinstated, and the case is not subject to being reopened or reviewed," Montenegro said in an e-mail statement. "Therefore, Mr. Andres' request to appear before an immigration judge was denied." Juan Andres’s attorneys, Ron Russell and Becca O’Neil, both acknowledge that Andres came into the United States illegally 25 years ago. But they still requested that the government grant him leniency, citing his good moral character and his son’s service in the Marines. "He's a very strong family man, someone who was respected in his community," Russell said in a phone interview. "... It was a case that warranted an exercise of discretion because his son is facing deployment to Afghanistan." Russell said the deportation could be demoralizing for those in the armed services who have family members illegally in the U.S. He said "it would not harm our country's interests" to allow Andres to remain in the U.S. while his son fights for it. "I can't imagine the conflicting feelings that a soldier who is going to be deployed or is deployed in a combat situation wondering, 'Why is my country treating my family member in such a manner?'" he said. On Dec. 9, Juan Andres accompanied a friend who does not speak much English to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse and Custom House in Louisville, KY. His friend was trying to post a bond for another individual. Intending to help out, Andres instead found himself handcuffed and detained after being asked for his own identification papers. “The way the officer saw it, he was just doing his job. He is not the supervisor there; we have been unable to reach the supervisor directly,” O’Neil said in December. Russell said he had hoped to persuade a judge not to reinstate Andres' removal order, or at least grant a stay of removal. To have been granted a "green card" or permanent residency, something his wife has, Andres would have been required to prove to the judge that he is of good moral character, has been in the country for 10 years and that deportation would create a hardship for his family. Russell said he was confident he could have proven all those standards. "His reputation was excellent," he said. Montenegro said immigration officials followed one of their main missions — "to identify and remove convicted criminal aliens." Texas Aurora Gonzalez (Veteran) Story excerpted from: http://www.immigrantslist.org/en/learn/aurora_gonzalez_-_san_antonio_tx I am an American citizen and married to a Mexican for 10 years now. We have two children, ages 9 and 6, born and raised in the U.S., and one on the way. I am a military veteran and love my country!! I filed for my husband in 1999. The I-129 and I-130 were both approved but he was not able to obtain an affidavit of support so we stopped the process. In 2001 my husband was stopped by the police and was voluntary deported. After he was deported I could not obtain any records thru immigration on his deportation and after years of looking for records I re-filed and again everything was approved. In 2008 my husband was sent a letter to go to Ciudad Juarez and apply for a K-3 Visa. However, once there he was given a 10-year ban. We have spent over $8,000 dollars in lawyer fees and travel. I don’t think it is fair for my children and I to have to have to move to Mexico and completely change our lifestyles in order for our family not to be broken up! It is not right that after I served my country, my country will not accept my husband. Nelson Delgado (Marines): Wife Faces Deportation, Separation From Husband and Children April 16, 2010 Language transcribed from this video clip: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/041610-marine%27s-wife-to-be-deported Even though a woman has been living in North Texas for 10 years and her husband is a military veteran, tough immigration laws threaten to split her family and send her back to Mexico. Nelson Delgado is a married father of two who served a year in Iraq; he spent 4 years in the marines on active duty and another 4 in the reserves. Now he fights for his family’s future. A legal battle threatens to separate mother from son, father from daughter. “And this is the country that I love that is doing this to me. I can’t believe this, I’m still in shock.” Nelson is a legal immigrant from El Salvador, his wife Oliva came here from Mexico without papers in 1995. Three years later she went back to Mexico to visit her dad who was hospitalized and therein lies the problem. According to immigration law if someone enters the country illegally and stays here for more than one year, then leaves and re enters the country illegally, that person will be barred from seeking legal residency for 10 years. Olivas’ attorney admits that the odds are stacked against his client. “This is an extremely difficult case to win in court.” Oliva will be deported unless her attorney can prove that sending her back would result in “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.” “When my daughter asks questions like, what is deportation? Why do you have to split up?...it tears me up, I can’t describe the feeling,” said a teary Nelson. “I’m trying to be as good as I can” (Esmeralda) Eight year old Esmeralda and three year old Angel could go to Mexico with mom or stay in Texas with dad. Something Esmeralda is not willing to settle for, she tells her dad “I want to be with both of y’all, that… I can’t, I just can’t picture it.” Pfc. Armando Soriano (dec.): Father of fallen soldier now facing deportation August 6, 2007 Copied from this article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5029303.html The shrine to Pfc. Armando Soriano fills two china cabinets and spills over onto the top of the TV, where he smiles in a framed prom picture. All his life, the eldest son of illegal immigrants from Mexico dreamed of doing big things. Before his vehicle rolled off a road in Iraq, Armando had planned to help his family get out of a run-down apartment complex on Houston's south side and into a house of their own. The U.S.-born soldier also told his parents he was going to help them become American citizens. In death, Armando partially succeeded. After he was buried with military honors in Houston in 2004, the U.S. government gave Enrique and Cleotilde Soriano the opportunity to apply for green cards. The family benefited from the government's unofficial policy — a kind of very specific amnesty — that gives the relatives of service members who die in war the chance to become legal immigrants. Armando's mother, Cleotilde, is now a lawful permanent resident. But his father is facing deportation. Enrique's application for a green card alerted U.S. authorities to his immigration record. After taking Armando for a visit to Mexico and trying to return to Houston illegally, Enrique was formally deported in 1999, making him ineligible for any immigration benefits. The family's plight has compelled one Houston lawmaker to propose a private immigration bill in January to help Enrique Soriano get a green card. The Soriano case is not an isolated one — the immigrant wife of a U.S. soldier missing in Iraq was recently threatened with deportation; the father of another soldier who died after becoming ill in Iraq was deported to Mexico in 2003. For Enrique, the dilemma is a decidedly urgent one. Sitting at his kitchen table on a rainy Friday afternoon, the 47-year-old construction worker said he knows immigration agents can come for him at any time. "I worry for my family; they are all here, and Armando, he is buried here," he said. "But it is up to God. Only he knows his plan." A path to citizenship Soriano's case highlights the duality of immigration law, which is often punitive, but in rare circumstances forgives sins in light of sacrifice. U.S. officials rarely discuss such immigration cases publicly, but it is often reported anecdotally that after the death of a U.S. military service member on active duty, surviving family members who are illegally in the country are encouraged to apply for legal permanent residency, the first step toward citizenship. The issue has become more urgent in recent years, as the ranks of so-called "green-card soldiers" have grown. Since President Bush waived the three-year residency requirement for naturalization, more than 32,000 military personnel have become citizens. As of May 2006, the most recent statistics available, more than 68,000 foreign-born military personnel were on active duty, roughly 5 percent of the total active-duty force. Since the start of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon has counted more than 100 foreign-born casualties. There are no estimates available for the number of U.S.-born soldiers killed overseas who, like Soriano, have undocumented family members. Immigration and military officials seem to handle the cases on an individual basis, with widely varying results. Recently, officials with the Department of Homeland Security stopped the deportation of Yaderlin Jimenez, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic who was married to a U.S. soldier, Army Spc. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass. Jimenez disappeared May 12 in Iraq along with another soldier during an insurgent attack. Yet the family of Zeferino Colunga Jr. reported that they felt betrayed after his death in August of 2003. The 20-year-old Army specialist became ill in Iraq and was diagnosed by military doctors with leukemia. He died in Germany and was returned to Texas for burial. Four months after his death, his father was picked up by immigration agents and deported from Bellville, a town 60 miles west of Houston, to Mexico. Zeferino Colunga Sr. had been previously deported from the U.S. in 1993 after pleading guilty to possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. Waiting for word Laura Keehner, a spokeswoman with the Department of Homeland Security, said U.S. immigration officials try to work with the families of missing and deceased soldiers on legalization issues, within reason. "We obviously support our soldiers, and we recognize that (a death) would be an extenuating circumstance" for surviving family members, she said. "Their loved ones gave their lives for our freedom." In Enrique Soriano's case, immigration officials denied his petition for a green card based on his prior deportation, said Isaias Torres, Soriano's attorney. Enrique and Cleotilde emigrated from Mexico in the 1980s. Over the years, they returned to Mexico periodically to visit family members and attend weddings and funerals and quinceañeras, crossing back into the U.S. illegally. In 1999, Enrique Soriano was formally deported after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen, but he snuck back across the Rio Grande to rejoin his family in Houston. Immigration officials apparently didn't know he was back in the U.S. until his green card application was filed, Torres said. Today, Enrique Soriano is in a state of limbo, waiting for word about his case. His work authorization expired in January. Marilu Cabrera, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, said such cases are reviewed for their merits individually. "We've requested the file, and if there's anything we can do under the law for this person who lost a son in the war, we will." Congressman Gene Green, D-Houston, has introduced a private immigration bill to help Enrique Soriano become a lawful permanent resident. So far, the bill remains in committee, but Green is hoping to schedule a hearing soon, he said. "I think it would be a travesty for these parents to be deported after their son died in Iraq fighting for this country," he said. 'He just wanted to help' Since he was 12 or 13, Armando Soriano had been working odd jobs, in construction or in restaurants, telling friends how he was going to help get his parents and four siblings out of a run-down apartment complex on Winkler Street and into a house of their own. He was 20 when he died. If he had lived to age 21, he would have been eligible to apply for residency on his parents' behalf, though his father's prior deportation likely would still have been an issue under those circumstances, officials said. "He helped us with everything," his father recalled. "From the time he was young, he just wanted to help." Armando Soriano joined the Army two months after graduating from South Houston High School in 2002. He died in Haditha, Iraq, on Feb. 1, 2004, when his vehicle, traveling in a convoy along a supply route, slid off a road and rolled over during bad weather, according to the Department of Defense. They buried him in Houston, where he was born. Hundreds turned out for his funeral. Some of his friends and fellow soldiers told stories about how he was nicknamed "Monkey," because he was small, fast and strong. At 5 feet 6 inches, Soriano lifted 100-pound artillery shells as part of his job driving a 155 mm cannon through Iraq. When he died, Soriano was assigned to the howitzer battery, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, in Fort Carson, Colo. His unit in Iraq was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division of Fort Bragg, N.C. Torres, Enrique Soriano's attorney, has told him that there's not much more he can do since the green card petition was formally denied. Cleotilde Soriano, who works in the washroom of an elder-care home, said she is nervous. She and her husband have four other children, three of them U.S. citizens. She has petitioned for a green card for her daughter, Areli, who was born in Mexico. "If they take him now," Cleotilde said of her husband, "I don't know what we'll do." Since Armando's death, the family has moved into a modest, 1960s-era home in Pasadena. There is not a speck of dust on the glass of the china cabinet that holds the mementos of Armando's life. The flag that covered his coffin is neatly folded on the top shelf, next to the dog tags that hung around his neck. Enrique Soriano said he is waiting for the summer rains to stop, so he can go to his son's grave and wipe down his marble headstone. It bothers him when it's dirty. If he's deported and the family returns to Mexico, he said, they couldn't leave Armando behind. "We'd have to bring him with us," he said. Pfc. Armando Soriano (dec.): Dead soldier's dad gets reprieve in immigration case: Move to deport him is put on hold while House looks at billMay 15th, 2011 Copied from this article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5303236.html U.S. immigration officials have granted the father of a U.S.-born soldier killed in Iraq a reprieve from deportation while Congress considers a private bill that would give him a green card. Enrique Soriano, an illegal immigrant and the father of Pfc. Armando Soriano, was facing deportation from Houston until U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials recently decided to grant him "deferred action," which will allow him to live and work legally in the U.S. for one year, said Maria Elena Garcia-Upson, a spokeswoman for USCIS. Officials with the agency formally notified Soriano's attorney, Isaias Torres, of the reprieve by fax on Wednesday. It is effective for one year from the date of its request by the USCIS district director in Houston, meaning it will expire Sept. 10, 2008. "It's a step forward, but it's not a long-term solution," Torres said. "At least he's not under the threat of being detained and removed anymore." Enrique has lived with the fear that immigration agents would appear any day at his front door, decorated with a faded yellow ribbon in remembrance of his son. On Wednesday, the 47-year-old Pasadena resident said his worries have been eased. "I can breathe a little now," Enrique said. "It gives me hope that my case is progressing." The Soriano story has drawn widespread attention since the Houston Chronicle first reported on it in August. The family's plight highlighted the complicated issue of service members whose family members are illegal immigrants. U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, has introduced a private bill that would grant Enrique and Armando's younger sister, Areli, legal permanent resident status. The bill, HR 3772, remains in committee. Jesse Christopherson, spokesman for Green, said they are optimistic about the bill's chances. A private bill provides benefits to specified individuals. Immigration is one of the most common subjects of such legislation. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Republican in East Texas, has a private bill pending to stop the deportation of an Albanian immigrant who fears his life could be in danger if he's deported. The House Judiciary Committee has approved a handful of private bills in recent months. Wife granted green cardArmando was killed in Iraq in February 2004 when a military vehicle he was riding in rolled off a road, according to the Army's account of his death. The South Houston High School graduate was 20 years old. He was buried with military honors and awarded the Bronze Star posthumously. After his death, the Soriano family benefited from an unofficial policy that gives the immediate relatives of service members who die in war the chance to become legal residents, even if they came to the U.S. illegally. Armando's mother, Cleotilde, was approved for lawful permanent resident status. But Enrique's petition for a green card was denied. In 1999, Enrique was formally deported after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen, but he sneaked back across the Rio Grande to rejoin his family in Houston. Immigration officials apparently didn't know he was back in the U.S. until his green card application was filed. His application apparently alerted U.S. immigration officials that he was in the country illegally. He was facing deportation until the recent USCIS decision to grant "deferred action." This distinction is granted at the district and regional level of USCIS, and does not offer a chance at a green card. It does, however, allow recipients to work legally in the U.S. — at least temporarily. Enrique spends his days working in construction. Because he was tied up with work, he couldn't visit his son's grave on Veterans Day. So he stopped by the cemetery on Wednesday afternoon before he heard about his case and wiped down Armando's marble headstone. About two hours later, Torres called to tell him that he didn't have to leave his family any time soon. Virginia Anonymous May 23, 2011 Story compiled and written by AILA. Wife was brought to the U.S. when she was 2 ½ years old. She married her high school sweetheart who is active duty military. The U.S. is her country. She doesn’t know any other life. She has one child under 3 years old and another on the way. The wife’s country of birth is experiencing substantial drug-related violence. It is unsafe for Americans in several parts of the country. If the wife was forced to return before the baby is born, she would not have access to the type of medical care available to military families. She would have no support from husband, family and friends after childbirth. There also would be complications in establishing the U.S. citizenship of the baby, which would not occur if the baby was born in the U.S. Regardless of whether the wife was forced to leave before or after the baby’s birth, the family faces horrible choices. If the two children went with their mother, they would be deprived of regular contact with their father as well as the educational, medical and social benefits of living in the U.S. The husband would suffer the loss of his wife and children and would have the added financial burden of supporting a separate household in the other country. If the children stayed in the U.S. with their father, they would be deprived of regular contact with the mother. The father would have the burden of arranging/paying for child care while meeting his military obligations; would be deprived of the support of his wife in maintaining the household; and would have the burden of providing her with financial support so she can survive in the foreign country. Directory: page page -> [0] B. Hardware [2] page -> [1] B. 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