JUDY WOODRUFF: We turn back now
to immigration and the issue of
undocumented immigrants serving

in the U.S. military.

For that, I'm joined by our
White House correspondent,
Yamiche Alcindor.

So, Yamiche, we learned late
Thursday about a decision by
the U.S. military to discharge

some of their recruits.

Tell us about that.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well,
what we know is that the
United States Army has
been secretly discharging

or quietly discharging a number
of immigrant recruits, according
to recent reports by the

Associated Press, and our own
reporting here at "NewsHour."

The Associated Press
is reporting that these
are immigrants who
joined the Army Reserves

or the Army and were told
that they could have a path
toward citizenship if they were

enlisted.

They did that, but now they are
being told that they have to go.

The AP is reporting that
there are about 40 people
who are impacted by this.

An immigration attorney that
we talked here to at "NewsHour"
said that she heard from

dozens of people who
are impacted by this.

These immigrants are being told
either nothing about why this
is happening or they're being

told that they are security
risks because they have family
abroad or because the Department

of Defense could not complete
their background check.

We talked to someone who was
a former senior Department of
Defense person -- official who

said that the government
essentially wants to fast-track
these people and wants to take

a quick path, not a correct
path, and that, if they were
given the additional time, they

could do that.

The Pentagon and Army aren't
commenting because of a
lawsuit that is pending.

In the meantime, I traveled to
Salina, Kansas, to report about
another group of young immigrant

recruits in limbo.

John Candido proudly wears
his Army T-shirt, a gift from
military recruiters who hope he

might one day join their ranks.

JOHN CANDIDO, DACA
Recipient/Army Enlistee:
I have always wanted to
enlist in the military.

It's just always been a dream.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: But his
dream has been delayed for
three years and counting.

John is a so-called dreamer
and a recipient of DACA.

That's the Obama era
effort to protect young
undocumented immigrants
brought to the country

as children.

That program is caught
in political limbo.

From 2014 to 2016, DACA
recipients could earn a path to
citizenship by enlisting in the

military and completing
basic training through
a program called MAVNI.

That stands for Military
Accessions Vital to
National Interest.

But, by 2016, the military
had identified security
threats within the program.

In response, they stopped
accepting new recruits,
and those already
enlisted, like John, were

subjected to increased,
lengthy vetting.

The result?

He might be waiting
indefinitely.

JOHN CANDIDO: My whole
life is just limbo.

And it's just kind of, you're
on an island by yourself
waiting, while the rest of the

world is just going on.

TODD WEILER, Former U.S.
Assistant Secretary of Defense:
That's my big concern, is that

we're throwing the baby
out with the bathwater.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Army veteran
Todd Weiler oversaw troop
recruitment for the Department

of Defense during the Obama
and Clinton administrations.

TODD WEILER, There are
some legitimate security
concerns that need to
be addressed, but to

lump the DACA recipients in with
folks from Iran or Iraq that
you may have concerns about,

it just doesn't
make sense to me.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: MAVNI started
under President George W. Bush
as a way to recruit immigrants

with much-needed foreign
language or medical skills.

In 2014, President Obama
opened the program up
to DACA recipients,
promising them a path

to citizenship.

Do you think the country
is now breaking a
promise it made to you?

JOHN CANDIDO: Oh, absolutely.

I know if I had a contract with
the government and then I backed
out, or I kept giving them

infinite deadlines, that
probably wouldn't go very well.

You know, I swore in.

I did the paperwork.

I did everything.

I signed on the dotted line.

I held up my end of the deal.

But the government's
just like void.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: About 900
DACA recipients are currently
serving in the military or have

signed contracts to serve,
according to the Pentagon.

Immigration lawyers told the
"NewsHour" around 300 are still
waiting to ship off to basic

training.

Weiler fears that these men
and women are now vulnerable.

TODD WEILER: They came
out of the shadows.

They signed up for the military.

If we're not going to honor
that contract, then we need
to figure out how we're going

to separate with these folks,
and in a way that doesn't
flag them for deportation.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the
United States: Our military is
very depleted, but it's rapidly

getting better.

And in a short period of
time, it will be stronger
than it has ever been.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Another
frustration for John?

Reports of troop shortages
across the military.

JOHN CANDIDO: They're like, oh,
we're having crazy shortages
for pilots, medics, and they're

issuing out waivers, because
more waivers where people
have smoked marijuana before.

They have criminal records.

I'm like, I have
none of those things.

Can I please just enlist?

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: John's family
came to the United States
from Brazil on a tourist visa

when he was 8.

That visa eventually expired,
but his family never left.

John, who is 28 now, only
learned he was undocumented
eight years ago, when
he married his wife,

Jordan (ph).

JOHN CANDIDO: You thought you
were home your whole life.

And then, like, somebody
turned the light on, and
you're not in your house.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: He had hoped
that, by promising to serve, he
could finally make up for being

in the country illegally.

The day he enlisted
was emotional.

JOHN CANDIDO: I swore in.

I cried there.

I didn't even cry on my
daughter's birth, which is bad,
but, you know, it was rolling

down my face.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: John, who
currently installs phone lines,
sees the military as a way to

a better life.

But Congressman Steve Russell,
a Republican from Oklahoma
and a retired Army lieutenant

colonel, says military
service shouldn't be used to
resolve immigration problems.

REP.

STEVE RUSSELL (R), Oklahoma:
I don't have any issue with
serving alongside immigrants.

My goodness, if that were the
case in the military, then
I probably never could have

served a day.

But, nevertheless, we don't
need to change what the good
policies are to accommodate

somebody's agenda or
somebody's scenario.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Russell thinks
DACA recipients should have
to become permanent residents

prior to serving
in the military.

He supports a proposal by
President Trump to create an
eventual path to citizenship

for dreamers, in exchange for
funding a wall on the southern
border and curbing other types

of legal immigration.

REP.

STEVE RUSSELL: We see a lot
of unfortunate stories with
those in a DACA status.

That is why I think
we need to resolve it.

I think President Trump,
honestly, had probably the best
deal laid on the table early on.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: John
also backs the president.

He blames Congress, not Mr.
Trump, for his uncertain status.

JOHN CANDIDO: I honestly feel
like Trump is doing his best,
the administration is doing

its best.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: He is
desperate for a final
decision, even if it
means returning to Brazil.

So, deportation is better
than limbo for you?

JOHN CANDIDO: Yes.

At least it's an answer.

At least it's a no,
instead of a maybe.

I would prefer no deportation.

I would prefer to enlist
and go to basic and
show how American I am.

And, you know, I
really want to be here.

But it's just at least --
at least it's an answer.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: For now, John
Candido continues to wait, until
a policy change from Washington

or a go-ahead from the
military decides his fate.

For the "PBS NewsHour,"
I'm Yamiche Alcindor
in Salina, Kansas.