RSSOPINION/EDITORIAL
Deportation? Let's use some common sense
Yakima Herald-Republic Editorial Board
E-mail
Print
Comments
More 'Opinion'
- Valley voters never should be underestimated
- Forest Service needs to better plan, inform public of burns
- Tax credit will rev up first-time home buys over bleak winter
- Don't complain, do something about it-- Vote!
- Tuesday's election-- What we recommend
- R-71 is inconsistent, erodes sanctity of marriage
- Referendum 71 -- Get past hatred and support families
This editorial appears in the Nov. 8, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic.
Telling the truth has consequences. While we have been taught that something good should follow, that's not always the case.
For Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a Pakistani immigrant and National Guard soldier trying to obtain U.S. citizenship, the truth-telling has placed him on the fast track to being deported. The incident, which was featured recently in this newspaper, carries a clear warning: Beware of getting trapped in a government bureaucracy.
Chaudhry arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa in 1998 and intended to enjoy a career in the military. He joined the Army National Guard in Yakima, was placed on active duty and sent to Fort Lewis and Fort Irwin in Southern California for training.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. A month after joining the military in March 2001, his application for permanent residency was approved.
But then things turned sour. A series of back injuries during training put an end to his military career. He now uses a wheelchair to get around. The Army gave him an honorable discharge in May 2006.
Then immigration officials told him they had denied his request for U.S. citizenship due to what had happened in Australia a decade ago when he first applied for a visa. On that application, he failed to confess several misdemeanor convictions, for which he had paid the fines and says he was told by Australian authorities they would be wiped off his record.
Here's when the truth-telling comes into play. Immigration officials weren't aware of these misdemeanors until Chaudhry came forward and told them. He claims he wasn't aware at the time he filled out the visa application that these misdemeanors were reportable convictions in the eyes of the U.S. government.
And what misdemeanors did he commit? He pleaded guilty to using a passport and credit card that did not belong to him. Chaudhry said it was all a mistake but paid the $1,450 in fines anyway.
Now he awaits an immigration court date in April. He has already received support from U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, who all agree Chaudhry is a model citizen and deserves better treatment than what he's getting.
For their part, U.S. immigration officials question Chaudhry's moral character since he failed to properly fill out the visa application and say his citizenship application should be denied.
And it all started when he told the truth.
We hope when an immigration judge considers Chaudhry's case this spring, reason will prevail. Someone who has been honorably discharged from the U.S. military and who tells the truth when it's clearly not in his best interest to do so deserves better treatment. This time, truth and common sense should intersect.
* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.
Leave a comment on this story!
2 comments so far.
