Please hold a moment… – The Atlantic
www.theatlantic.com

Perez told us that her husband believed that joining the Army would allow him to serve his country, give his family access to health care—including the costly medications his son takes—and potentially protect his wife from deportation. He had already submitted her application for a benefit called Parole in Place, which offers a path to legal residency for the close relatives of service members. Officials at Fort Benning had assured him that she would have no trouble getting IDs for herself and the children, and that it didn’t matter that she didn’t have a Social Security number, Perez told us.

At the gates of the Navy base, guards told Perez they had no record of her appointment. She remained calm as they directed her to a nearby office to get a visitor’s pass. That’s when two military officials took the family into a room for questioning. “In my head, I thought it was just protocol for the safety of the base, but it started getting weird,” Perez said. As she answered, she told us, one of the military officers appeared to be relaying her responses to someone through text messages.

  • CentipedeFarrier@piefed.socialEnglish
    15·
    8 hours ago

    I think it’s the ‘joining the military under the current admin’ bit? Implied support sort of thing, since these days its a REAL choice to join up, with everything the US is presently involved with.

    I think it’s punching down at people in poverty who have been forced to choose between bad outcomes by shitty people, myself, but lots of people around here will take any opportunity to bash US military members regardless of how the structure of society makes that one of very few options for certain groups of people.

    Having read it, it looks like the only reason he joined was to potentially protect her and get healthcare, and it also looks like he was encouraged to do so as entrapment. She was already being watched ahead of that, from the sound of it.

    What’s different about Perez’s case is that U.S. military personnel appeared to be working with ICE to identify a potential target and use a long-standing military-recruitment tool—the promise of legal status for loved ones—to facilitate an arrest.

    • A_norny_mousse@piefed.socialEnglish
      2·
      7 hours ago

      Having read it, it looks like the only reason he joined was to potentially protect her and get healthcare, and it also looks like he was encouraged to do so as entrapment.

      Oh yeah, then it actually makes sense. Although it’s still more a case of classical backstabbing.

    • A_norny_mousse@piefed.socialEnglish
      41·
      8 hours ago

      I don’t like the narrative of joining the military to serve your country much, but it’s still very different from serving the current admin.

      And like you say, it’s the only better-than-minimum-wage option open to many people.

      There are no more summer lifeguard jobs
There are no more art museums to guard
The lab is out of white lab coats
Cause there are no more slides and microscopes
But there are still careers in combat, my son
There are still careers in combat, my son

There are no more roles on TV shows
There are no road-cone dispensing jobs
There are no spots left for park ranger
Cause there are no bears left to save you from
But there are still careers in combat, my son
There are still careers in combat, my son